CARRIBEAN, WEST INDIES, BARBADOS, Robert and Rhoda Smith—They share the following report: “The Lord gave us 42 children in our recent Vacation Bible School with five children receiving Christ as Savior. There were a number of adults who visited the church to help their child win a prize. The following Saturday, Rhoda and I were out soul winning together to follow up on a mother who trusted Christ along with her mother. Because of Rhoda’s knees, it has been a long time since she was able to go out soul winning with me, so that Saturday was a VERY big day for the two of us! Also, two men accepted Christ, one of them was an uncle to one of the children who came to VBS and the other was the child’s grandfather.
EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, SOROTI, GWERI, Matthew and Savannah Gardner—They share the following with pray requests: “Please be in prayer for several big needs as we begin our second term. First, pray for the pastor of the church in Gweri. He was diagnosed with a cancer in his shoulder. The church construction that we were planning to start has now been put on pause for a few months until he can get his treatments finished. He is currently in the capital city of Kampala in the cancer ward of the biggest hospital in Uganda. I have traveled to meet with him and encourage him in the Lord. Please also pray for his church, as an assistant pastor is leading in his stead. 
CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, SAN PABLO, Jeremy and Michelle Blanz—They give the following with prayer needs: “September was another busy month. We continue to teach and preach the Gospel throughout San Pablo. Every Saturday we preach the Gospel in parks and neighborhoods, and we see new visitors on a regular basis. On September 7, we had an activity after the service to celebrate Children’s Day. We are also working on plans for our 2nd missions emphasis month in October. Last year, the church embraced Faith Promise missions giving and took on two missionaries for support. The church has not only kept its commitment but also exceeded it! We have also had the opportunity to send a group of about 18 people or so to help one of the missionaries with an evangelistic Children’s Day activity in the town where he is planting a church. It was great to encourage him and help the church to see how we are sowing the Gospel in other communities. In preparation for missions month, I have contacted several Costa Rican pastors and missionaries to inquire about others who are being sent out to start new churches. If the Lord allows, we hope to do even more this year—not only financially but also through prayer and sending groups to help with evangelism and support.
EAST AFRICA, MALAWI, PHOKERA, Eric and Jessica Curtis—They share the following: “The Bible college students have just completed the second semester and will be on break until March 2026. During this semester, I taught the Pastoral Leadership course. Both of the pastoral candidates for the two church plants earned A’s, despite both facing many trials during the semester. One from the Phokera church had thieves stealing corn from his fields while he was at college and the other from the Nyamula group lost his father just a few weeks ago. We know that Satan would like nothing better than to discourage these men from serving the Lord. Please pray especially for these two men as they prepare to be pastors.
USA MILITARY MINISTRIES, GERMANY, BAUMHOLDER, Joseph and Laura Passaro—They share the following with prayer needs: “Our summer here at Grace Baptist Church went very well. We have added a number of single soldiers who are from an ADA (Air Defense Artillery) Unit here in Baumholder. Also, one of the young soldiers is very zealous in inviting other soldiers, which is quite exciting to see. Please pray for their faithfulness to all the services.
>USA MINISTRIES, MONTANA, KALISPELL, David and Dee Dee Sterling—They share the following report: “Three weeks ago while out door knocking, my son and his wife met a woman who seemed to be upset about something. When they checked on her, it turned out she spoke Russian. She was locked out of the house where she was staying while working a contract in our valley. Ryan was able to ‘gain access’ to the house and let her back in. The next day she attended our morning service and afterwards gave us her testimony of salvation. The next week, two young men came to our services for the first time. One from Arizona, who is starting to college this year, gave a testimony of being saved. The other young man is not sure of his salvation but has come to two more services and listened to the preaching, Pray that he will make the decision to accept Christ as Savior. He has been dealt with twice but says he is still not ready to ask Christ into his heart.
SOUTHEAST ASIA, AUSTRALIA, PERTH, Gary and Sherrie Lester—They share the following: “We have had an exciting and busy winter here in Australia. Our winter here in Perth has been the wettest and coldest in over 20 years. Although we have experienced numerous illnesses in our family and church, God has truly blessed us during this season. We have seen several visitors and have gained a new family.
EUROPE, SPAIN, PARLA (MADRID), Julio and Andrea Velasquez—They share the following with prayer needs: “As we look back over the summer, we are happy with all that we were able to do. We had six children attend children’s camp and three preteens attend the camp. Then we had four teens at teen camp and four college and career attend their camp. We also had three attend family camp. One girl came to know Christ as her Savior and several of the teens were moved to follow Christ with more dedication and determination. Many decisions were made by those who attended. A young man who recently moved to Spain from Cuba started coming to our services. I had Bible classes with him for a few weeks and he repented of sin and trusted Jesus for salvation! He was faithfully attending all the services until a couple of weeks ago when he found a place to live in a small town about 35 minutes from Parla. We are sad because he is unable to attend church now and we do not know of any church in his area. Pray God will open the door for him to be able to come to church, possibly purchasing a car. We have many immigrants come to the church and they want to live in Parla, but right now in Spain, housing is very limited. We have one family including aunts, uncles, and grandparents (12 in all) who are living in a small two-bedroom apartment because they cannot find another place. Please pray about this situation because right now we have two families who are in desperate need of housing.”
SOUTH AMERICA, ARGENTINA, Buenos Aires, D. A. and Debbie Brosius—They share the following: “If you recall from our previous prayer letter, we were praying about purchasing a building for our newest work. Thankfully, we were able to do so with the help of your offerings, savings, and a no interest loan from an American Christian. There are some problems to resolve such as installing a sewer system, drainage system, and rewiring, but the members are very excited that the Lord has allowed us to have our own property. Thank you to those who have been sending in offerings. We pray for the rest to come in to be able to pay back the loan quickly and to do repairs. Please pray for this church, for souls to be saved, and for protection as it is in a very rough neighborhood.
EUROPE, BELGIUM, Brent and Jen Hoffman —They share the following report: “We had our normal good church attendance in August; it continues to surprise me because I am a natural born pessimist. Almost every week I will tell Jen, I think we are going to have a lighter Sunday because a bunch of people are out of town, then I am surprised when we are basically full every week. We have had a few new families start coming very faithfully in August, most with kids. Last week, we had 35 kids ages 16 on down in church. Thankfully, several of the church people have stepped up and we are able to split them up in a few different classes. Jen always does so much and does such a great job.”
SOUTH AMERICA, BOLIVIA, MAGDALENA, Ernesto and Amanda Salvatierra—They share the following: “At the end of July, Magdalena celebrated 305 years since their founding. There were festivals, parades, and a lot of people everywhere. The celebration lasted a week. The following week August 6 was Bolivia’s Independence Day. We were able to have a patriotic Sunday and sing Bolivia’s national anthem.
CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, Dangriga, Stann Creek, John and Robin Harris — They share the following with prayer needs: “We recently held our annual Vacation Bible School with guest speakers Ben and Kayla Stanley from Faith Baptist Church in Berne, Indiana. The children were eager to listen, sing, and learn from God’s Word. The Gospel was given and the children were receptive. It was also a blessing to have Kevin and Rachel Lowe assist us during their three-week visit. They will be moving here in September to join the ministry and we are excited about serving together. 
FAR NORTH, CANADA, NEW BRUNSWICK, Dan and Jennifer Post — They share the following report: “We finished July with a visit from our good friends Maurice and Beverley Deshenes. We organized a Saturday of distributing door hangers with an invitation and the Gospel in French. Our folks got excited and there were nine adults and four young people who helped with the special day. We are praying the Lord will use His Word to speak to hearts. Not only did Maurice and Beverley help with the distribution but also they sang a wonderful song on Sunday.SOUTH AMERICA, PERU, CHICLAYO, Lee and Eva Johnson — They share the following report with prayer requests: “In July the Lord gave me the blessed opportunity of preaching in the small city of Pacasmayo, located about two hours south of Chiclayo. I preached for a youth gathering on the 19th and at their regular church morning service on the 20th. I had a wonderful time helping them in their services. Iglesia Bautista la Pacasmayo (Pacasmayo Baptist Church) has been without a pastor for about 10 years. 
WEST AFRICA, NIGERIA, PORT HARCOURT, David and Rose Maskey — They share the following with prayer needs: “In 1995, we started our first church in Port Harcourt. A man came from the church in Calabar to help us. He has been a great blessing to us and has brought many to our church through the years. He is now one of our church trustees. He also brought his son with him. The son was just a teenager back then and was saved and baptized in our church, and like his Dad, was very faithful. The son has been a bus captain, a Sunday school teacher, a youth worker, a staff member of our church, and is also a Bible seminary graduate. He and his wife were also wed in our church. Now the Lord has led him to start a church in the village of Aluu, which is about 30 minutes from our main church. We were able to help him with the rent as well as the set-up. About 30 of our members went there recently to go soul winning and invite people to their inaugural service. We praise the Lord that 122 souls were saved. On August 3 they held their first service with a good attendance and five received Christ. We are encouraged with the successful starting of our 11th church plant, and we ask that you would pray for this young couple that God will continue to use them to reach the village of Aluu with the Gospel.
WESTERN EUROPE, GERMANY, RHEIM, Walt and Thrasilla Hornung — They share the following report with prayer needs: “We are very thankful for the blessings and working in His church in Mainz. Last Sunday service the Lord gave an almost full house with six first-time visitors and a Spirit-filled powerful worship service. We are also thankful that our services can be seen and heard live online over YouTube! It is also encouraging that a good number of people are logged in to listen to the various sermons at a later time.
USA MILITARY, JAPAN, ATSUGI-ZAMA, Ed and Elvie Navato — They share the following: “In January 2024, the Lord led us to begin holding services in our apartment as we planted Freedom Baptist Church in Atsugi-Zama. Our burden is to reach the U. S. Forces stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi as well as the surrounding neighborhoods with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
BIMI CLAIM MINISTRY, TENNESSEE, HARRISON, Joe and Linda Leleaux — They write, “We want to begin this letter by sharing with you some wonderful news. We have delayed writing until now because Joe’s health issues were so uncertain. As you may recall, last fall Joe was diagnosed with bladder cancer and the treatment process has been lengthy and slow. First, there was the surgery to remove the growth. After a two-month delay due to a shortage of drugs needed for chemotherapy, he went through six months of treatment. Then, he had to wait two months for the after treatment procedure to take biopsies from his bladder wall. The great news is that all the samples came back negative and he is cancer free! We are both truly thankful, and we trust you will rejoice in the Lord with us! 
CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, GRENADA, ST. ANDREW’S, GRENVILLE, Coco Chan — She shares the following report: “Blessing #3 — G.S., a 17-year-old resident at the juvenile center, realized he was a sinner and needed Jesus to save him from his sin. After I shared with him the salvation plan, G.S. bowed his head and prayed to accept Christ as Savior. He was so sorry for the wrong choice he made and broke his mother’s heart. I encouraged him to allow the Lord to take charge of this life so he could live a life to honor God. Please pray for him as he planned to learn to be a builder.
EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, GULU, Nate and Sara Wright — They share the following report: “Every five years, we are required by the Uganda Communications Commission to renew our license for operating Calvary Radio 105.3. This process involves submitting hundreds of pages of documents, but this time they are requiring several new documents. For the first time, everything has to be submitted online. I have been busy organizing and submitting these documents. All of this takes time and money. USA MINISTRIES, MONTANA, KALISPEL, David and Dee Dee Sterling — They share the following: “We praise the Lord for the work He is doing in Montana! The last week of June, J. L. followed the Lord in Believer’s Baptism. As we closed the service that Sunday morning, K. raised his hand for salvation. While Dee and I drove across the valley to Victory Baptist Church in order to prepare for the Baptismal Service, our son Ryan stayed and dealt with the young man. By the time the baptismal service was ready to begin, he had received assurance of his salvation. For someone who has recently been confined to a wheelchair, it took a good deal of trust on his part for J. to be baptized.
SOUTH AMERICA, PERU, LIMA, Carolyn Pace — She shares the following: “A team of young people from a church in Ohio is here this week and will have the opportunity to present the Gospel as well as encourage missionaries and their families with music, testimonies, and preaching. Even though I will not be a part of all their activities, I am thankful for the privilege of hosting some here at my house.
FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, CEBU CITY, Frank and Japhia Denisi — They share the following: “We have been gone for about a year, and the national leaders have truly stepped up in their spiritual leadership and decision making. It was a blessing to see their progress as we sat and talked. They shared updates of what the Lord has been doing.
SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN, Mark and Katie Gerosin — They share the following with prayer needs: “Although San Cristobal is a suburb of Medellin, it is a large one with a population of around 150,000 people. We sent F. O. and his family there in April of 2022 to start Iglesia Bautista Cristo el Señor. We have not ceased to be surprised at what God has done and proud of them for how they have developed. God continues to reach many through their ministry. CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, SAN PABLO, Jeremy and Michelle Blanz — They share the following: “We are continuing to establish the church in San Pablo. Every week we have a small team that goes out preaching the Gospel in door-to-door evangelism and in public parks. We are continuing to develop our visitation ministry in which we visit church members, visitors, and those who are sick and need encouragement. Jeremy has continued to preach through 1 Corinthians on Sundays and is also teaching a series on practical discipleship on Tuesday evenings. Michelle coordinates the children’s ministries and helps out at a Christian school. All in all we are very busy!! 
EUROPE, SPAIN, Larry and Brenda Writesel — They write, “This month we will be having our first Missions Conference in Fuenlabrada. The church is blazing with excitement. Pastor Thorddy has been teaching in Sunday school about the importance of missions, the responsibility of the church, and the role of being a supporting church. Many have never heard of these things before and are embracing the idea of being a supporting church for missions. It is amazing watching God open up their eyes to see the need of sharing the Gospel to all those who are around them. Missions is not just accomplished in a foreign land, it is to share the Gospel to whomever will hear it and wherever we are located.” 
SOUTHEAST ASIA, NEW ZEALAND, DUNEDIN, Bob and Diana Rutta — They share the following: “At the end of April, our youngest daughter Sarah was married to a faithful young man in our church. Nathan, our new son-in-law, is called to preach and is a student in our Bible institute. Also, I have been mentoring him for the last few years as we prepare him for the ministry. USA MILITARY MINISTRY, JAPAN, ATSUGI-ZAMA NAVAL BASE, Ed and Elvie Navato — They share the following praises and prayer needs: “We are excited to share some updates with you! 
FAR NORTH, CANADA, QUEBEC, LAVAL, Josh and Katie Pate — They share the following: “Thank you for your continued prayers for our family as we have settled into our new life and ministry in Laval, Quebec! Just this week, we were able to move into our rental home 12 minutes from the church. We were blessed to have a least 20 people from the church there to help us with the move from the Airbnb to our new home. The Lord has allowed us to make much progress in establishing ourselves in the province as we have acquired necessary government documents such as provincial health insurance, drivers’ licenses, etc. 
EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, SOROTI, Dan and Amie Dwire — They share the following with praise and prayer needs: “Thank you for your prayers during the annual Uganda Martyrs’ Day festivities. We were encouraged to have over a dozen of our church family participate alongside over 10 Christians from sister churches that joined us for this outreach. While we distributed fewer tracts than in previous years (around 9—10,000 this year), we found MUCH better reception. We had fewer people trying to argue and many more evangelistic conversations this year. Though we have not yet seen the harvest, many seeds were planted. Rejoice with is for at least one who professed faith in Christ and others who seemed very receptive when we explained the Gospel. SOUTH AMERICA, BOLIVIA, MAGDALENA, Ernesto and Amanda Salvatierra — They share the following report: “It is hard to believe that we have been here for a year and a half already. All this time has been filled with blessings and trials. No one said it was going to be easy, but praise the Lord for His faithfulness! 
SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, Dan and Debbie Board — They share the following: “We were blessed to dedicate eight babies to the Lord during a special service this month. Each of their parents knows the Lord and have a desire to rear them for His glory! Through God’s grace, the church family has come to the conviction that we must be careful to bring up the next generation in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The core priority begins in the home but it is encouraged and supported through the local church. Join us in praying for these couples and many more who are striving to serve the Lord together as a family. 
SOUTHEAST ASIA, PHILIPPINES, Mark and Kristin Catalan — They share the following report: “We praise the Lord for all the events that have taken place, including Resurrection Sunday, Mother’s and Father’s Days, as we took advantage of those holidays to invite people to church and share the Gospel. For these past few months, we have seen 20 who have professed to be saved! Please pray as we continue to follow up with them! 
WESTERN AFRICA, COTE D’IVOIRE, BINGERVILLE, Bob and Becky Mach — They share the following: “As I mentioned in our last prayer letter, we were able to finish our sixth term on the field quite successfully. The institute experienced its first commencement service. Four men from the Bingerville church who were training for the ministry were ordained for work in four different churches. We completed their new roof on the Bingerville church building and work is continuing on the construction of that church. 
FAR NORTH, CANADA, TORONTO, EUBICOKE, Cory and April McTague — They share the following report: “We have been very thankful for God’s hand of blessing this spring. We scheduled a baptism for Easter Sunday for our first baptism in our new building. We were overjoyed to see the Lord’s blessings on this day. We had 54 in attendance and three baptized. Having the church building has made a significant difference in visitors attending services, especially holidays. This is our first Easter service to have visitors from the neighborhood. We had around 20 visitors for the Holiday Service and the Baptism. 
SOUTH AMERICA, ARGENTINA, Justin and April Grinstead — They share the following with prayer needs: “We are rejoicing that two more precious souls have accepted Christ as their Savior since our last prayer letter. The first is a woman from the Dominican Republic who moved to Argentina years ago and married an Argentine. She and her husband operate a rotisserie about four blocks from our house where we frequently purchase chicken and French fries (a family favorite). The second is a realtor who is helping us find another house. Please pray for her as she is dealing with some serious health issues. Also, pray for both ladies’ husbands who are lost and need salvation. Continue to pray for a young man, his mother, and grandmother. He is Caleb and Joel’s friend and has been mentioned in our prayer letters several times. He and his mother lost nearly everything in the flood we referred to in our last letter. They are now living with the grandmother. They frequently attend our church, but their Catholic background makes it difficult for them to see the need for salvation by grace through faith. Please pray for our housing situation as we hope to move before a short furlough.”EUROPE, SPAIN, PARLA (MADRID), Julio and Andrea Velasquez — They give the following report: “First of all, on April 6 we celebrated the 15th Anniversary of our church here in Parla. We have seen God’s Hand in this ministry through the years and so many people who have come to Christ as their Savior. Some have returned to their country of birth and we have been sad to see them leave, but others have stayed and the church has grown not only numerically but spiritually as well. It is not a perfect church, but always desiring to follow the Lord! We have seen our Lord provide us with a building that is totally paid for and we have seen the Lord work to prepare two men to become pastors of our church and a third leader who has started another church in a neighboring city. 
FAR EAST, JAPAN, AOMORI, AOMORI, Steve and Kimiyo Cantor — They share the following: “We just had our spring BBQ with 43 people attending. Everyone pitched in and helped. We had games for the children with some of the adults joining in. The weather was cool and everyone enjoyed the fun and food, especially the American hamburgers.CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, BARBADOS, ST. PHILIP, Robert and Rhoda Smith — They share the following report: “Blessings upon blessings! . . . We were privileged to have Pastor A. A. of Abuja, Nigeria, here with us to teach our church about SMITE (Student Institute for Evangelism). The purpose of SMITE is to train and equip teens to conduct outdoor Bible clubs and win children to Christ. Some 15 years ago, a U. S. pastor taught Nigerian pastors and they in turn have taught many, many others and now us.USA MINISTRIES, MONTANA, KALISPELL, David and Dee Dee Sterling — They write with the following report: “Please continue to pray for a better location for us to hold services. We are continuously looking for available meeting places and pursuing any opportunities we hear of. We look forward to being able to have a location that will allow us to hold Sunday school classes and start a bus ministry.WEST AFRICA, NIGERIA, PORT HARCOURT, David and Rose Maskey — They share the following: “On May 25, we were with our church plant in Ahoada for their 4th Anniversary service. We praise the Lord for a record attendance of 140 with 71 first-time visitors and 42 receiving Christ as Savior during the invitation. I also baptized seven after the service in a nearby hotel swimming pool with many curious onlookers.
CENTRAL, AMERICA, PANAMA, Frank and Brenda Booth — They share the following report: “At the present time, we are in our rainy season which means no school, no universities, and no institutes! However, as the Bible institute starts back, we have five students from Victory Baptist Church, three of whom are new students. Also, for the first time ever, we have three new middle-aged students from Trinity Baptist Church attending.SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, Phnom Penh, Dave and Debbie Board — They share the following report: “A man was saved several months ago through the soul- winning efforts in the Somroung village, located about seven miles from our Phnom Penh church. Pray for him to remain faithful to the Lord! As a new believer in his village, he is learning to take a stand for his faith. A lady was saved only four weeks ago through the witness of our members in Kompong Chhnang Province. She was well into her 60s before she ever heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. Pray for her to be a consistent and compassionate witness in her family and village. Two faithful members of one of our satellite churches in Takeo Province are located about two hours from our Phnom Penh church. Recently, one has taken a firm stand for the Lord and no longer participates in some of the cultural events in her village. This has resulted in increased persecution. Pray for sustaining grace to be evident in her life through her joy and consistent walk with the Lord. Two faithful young adults are members of the satellite church in Kompong Chhang. Pray for them as they have recently experienced open and harsh reaction by their parents because of their faithful walk with the Lord. One is a student in our Bible college. The other desires to become a student should the door be opened to her.
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, JUNDIAI, David and Aline Barrett — They share the following: “As we reach almost eight months with our new work, we rejoice as how God has blessed us tremendously with several adults being saved and new attendees in the services. During Resurrection Sunday, we had a good turnout with three decisions for Christ. One man rededicated his life and reconciled with the family he had left in the north of Brazil. We have also had more souls saved during other services and soul- winning outreaches. Our monthly Bible clubs have been fruitful with 36 children attending recently and seven decisions for Christ. Nine of these children have been coming faithfully to our Sunday school and midweek services. We thank the Lord for the fruit He has given these past months.
EUROPE, FINLAND, PAHKINANKUORI, Andrew and Nicole Wippler — They share the following with prayer needs: “Over the winter, we carefully wrote and refined a new Finnish Gospel tract. With the help from native speakers, we finalized the design and had it printed in time for our spring evangelism efforts around the church neighborhood. While many are friendly, we continue to face the common challenge of engaging those who are either uninterested or convinced they must earn salvation by their own efforts. Please pray that the truth of Christ’s finished work would break through spiritual indifference and self-reliance.
CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, JAMAICA, MAY PEN, Fran Young — She writes the following: “Since the first week of January, Central Baptist Church received six new members and six were baptized! February 2, Central received 13 new members. On April 6, two men accepted Christ as Savior and a young lady recommitted her life to the Lord. The Lord has been working in services and every Sunday people fill the altar, praying for spiritual strength and rededication.
USA MINISTRIES, GEORGIA, SMYRNA, Bruce and Vicki Kelly, Missionaries to the Deaf — They share the following: “In the last two months, our church has held two funerals. The first was in February where I had the opportunity to preach the Gospel. Praise the Lord, five deaf people were saved! The second funeral was in March for a dear brother in Christ. He and his wife along with their three children all knew sign language and were a tremendous support to our ministry. We were always thankful for them. On February 25, 2025, he went to be with the Lord. His family reached out to us and asked if we could hold his funeral at our church, which was a great honor. The funeral was held on March 15, 2025. SOUTH AMERICA, BOLIVIA, MAGDALENA, Ernesto and Amanda Salvatierra — They share the following report: “During the last couple of months, we have been continuing with the work of the ministry the Lord has given us to do here in Bolivia. Rainy season is ending this month, Lord willing, and we will be able to move around more.
WEST AFRICA, TOGO, KARA, Randy and Jeanette Alderman — They share the following report: “We have been amazed so many times over the years at the way in which God has sent us far beyond our original location in Togo. We began our first church plant in the city of Kara on our front porch. As people accepted Christ, they desired their families and villages to hear the Gospel. We began to have opportunities to visit many remote locations. A few years ago, God led us to an area four hours to the south. All of the villages scattered throughout that region had an absence of a Gospel witness.
EUROPE, MOLDOVA, SOROCA, David and Stephanie Gross — They share the following: “In March, we held another evangelization outreach on International Women’s Day. Last year we had seven ladies in attendance, but this year we had 14. Praise the Lord for those who attended who heard the Gospel!FAR NORTH, CANADA, NEW BRUNSWICK, Dan and Jennifer Post — They write the following: “Praise the Lord, our new church signs are up and people are taking notice. As I was cleaning the church one evening, a couple noticed our signs and stopped by. I was able to give them a Bible and they came to our Easter services the next day.
EUROPE, ESTONIA, TALLINN, Rob and Angela Willoughby — They share the following: “There has been some real progress in our tract distribution. We finished canvassing our area of about 8,000 residents. Rob found a Christian artist to illustrate our new tract; it is nearing completion. We just need to make some final changes and send the files to the printer. Pray that God would use this new tract titled ‘He Who Seeks Will Find’ to cause skeptical Estonians to investigate the claims of the Bible.EAST AFRICA, MALAWI, Eric and Jessica Curtis — They share the following: “We are finishing the final month of the first semester at the Bible college. The students are doing well and growing in their understanding of the Word of God. Each week we go out soul winning in local villages and it has been a blessing to see them grow in their ability to witness. They are taking a break in June and then return in July for classes.
EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, KAMPALA, James and Cheryl Pridgen — They share the following report: “This week we will be putting a down payment on two Digital Printing Presses. One printer is black and white and is about 20 feet long and we and use it to print John & Romans, New Testaments, and other books. The other printer is a color printer and can be used to print Gospel tracts, book covers, Sunday school materials and much more. They will be shipped to Uganda and it will take about three months to get them here and to set them up.
CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, CAYO, BELMOPAN, Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer — They write the following with prayer needs: “During our recent Saturday outreach, I spoke with a man who was rather belligerent. Because Belmopan is somewhat small, we have visited every house more than once over six years. I remember visiting this man a couple of years ago and anticipated his response. On this visit, he actually allowed us to ask some questions before slamming the door. My heart has been especially burdened for him lately, would you please pray with us for him to be saved? When someone rejects the Gospel, we hope for his salvation.
USA MILITARY, JAPAN, Danny and Haruna McKittrick — They share the following: “Our services were packed on Easter Sunday, which was an encouragement. Several attendees raised their hands about salvation but did not come forward during the invitation. We are actively following up on them and are praying that the Lord will continue to open their hearts to receive His Son and His salvation. Please pray for two who have been attending services and are interested in the things of God. We visited in their home on the base and it was evident the Lord was at work. Please pray for their salvations. Please continue to pray for another. I visited him again in his dorm room and we had a good talk but he has yet to return to church. We are in a spiritual battle and we most sincerely covet your prayers for the salvation of our service men and women’s souls.”
USA MILITARY, SPAIN, Michael and DeAnna Staley — They share the following report: “During the mid-week service before Easter, we walked through the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry. We closed our service with the Lord’s Supper. We began Easter morning by having our third annual Easter breakfast. I would call it a sunrise breakfast, but the sun was already up for a couple of hours. We had a wonderful turnout this year and even had some visitors join us. By the time the morning service started, our parking lot was full, and people had to park along the road. We had a great day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord.
FAR EAST, JAPAN, KIRINOSAWA, AOMORI, Paul and Sarah Johnson — They share the following: “We have had an incredibly busy but blessed spring. Since early January, we have welcomed a nearly constant stream of visitors—some coming for fellowship, others to help with the building project, and many for both.
CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, ATENAS, Rick and Shannon Dove — They share the following report: “In March 2016 Victory Baptist Church of Atenas, Costa Rica, had its first service. We were nervous, excited, and trusting God to do a great work here. Fast forward to March 2025! By God’s grace, we celebrated another church anniversary. It was a wonderful service with a special speaker, great food, and wonderful fellowship. We have had our ups and downs and seen the devil fight the ministry here hard, but we praise God for the fruit we have seen here. We praise the Lord for the little children who are growing in God’s Word and many are passing out tracts inviting their neighbors to church. We praise the Lord that we are strengthening our ministries; God has blessed greatly with godly men in the church. Recently, after their men’s activity, they went out and invited people to come to church. We praise the Lord for two recent salvations. Amen!
EUROPE, SCOTLAND, ABERDEEN, KINGSWELLS, Rick and Sarah Demastus — They share the following with prayer needs: “We had a wonderful Easter Sunday! We had 22 visitors and for a few it was their first time in church. The Gospel was given and contacts were made that day. We look forward to visits! The Sunday school choir sang a special. It is always exciting to hear anyone, especially young people singing praises to God for His death, burial, and resurrection, giving us hope! We also had nine baptized that day! We used another church’s baptistery and it was a blessing have many stay for the ceremony. Continue to pray for these and their new walk with Christ.
SOUTH AMERICA, Chile, Nathan and Christine Saint — They share the following with prayer needs: “Truth Bible Baptist Church (in San Pedro) celebrated our third anniversary in March. Our auditorium was literally ‘standing room only’! We were even more encouraged to see many different people involved in the service and thankful for the opportunity to reflect on the challenges and blessings of the past eight years that we have been able to serve God in this beautiful city. Since then, we frequently came close to filling up our available seats, so we recently rearranged the auditorium to add ten more seats. We went from 60 to 70 chairs. As we continue to grow, there is room to squeeze in another ten seats or so, and then we have to consider building an addition so that we can reach 100 or more seats.
BIMI ARM PERSONNEL, ALABAMA, FLAT ROCK, Malcolm and Jan Gregory — They share the following with prayer needs: “Warm spring weather has increased the activity at the Collinsville flea market! We are amazed at the number of folks out shopping or seeking a few hours of amusement. This past Saturday many Hispanics came by our booth and received Gospel tracts. Some took time to hear a clear explanation of the Gospel. Praise the Lord, three made a personal decision for Christ! Pray with us concerning a local church to guide them and help them to grow spiritually.
AFRICA, SOUTH AFRICA, Richard and Laura Badgett — They share the following report: “Twelve people have been saved these last few months and nine have followed the Lord in baptism. Praise His name!EUROPE, FINLAND, Andrew and Nicole Wippler — They share the following report: “The first of March was our three-year anniversary of arriving in Finland. It still seems like yesterday when we were in the States raising our support to come here. The Lord has given us a love for the Finnish food, people, and culture. USA MILITARY, ITALY, ROTA, Michael and DeAnna Staley — They share the following report: “When C. first attended our church, he asked if we had a men’s and women’s Bible Study. I told him that we did not but I would be willing to start one. In February, we moved the mid-week service from Wednesday to Thursday nights followed by separate Bible Studies. We currently have eight men and four women that have been faithfully attending. It has been encouraging to lead the men and they have been open and willing to share, which makes it a very productive time.
CENTRAL AMERICA, HONDURAS, Jason and Cassy Tate — They share the following with prayer needs: “Several new believers have followed the Lord in their first step of faith by being baptized! One of the young ladies of our church was convicted of not having a genuine faith in Christ, received Christ, and immediately submitted to be baptized in spite of having an IV in her arm due to her illness! She has since begun serving in various ministries in the church with joy!
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, Bruno and Roxanne Mendes — They share the following: “This past month has been very busy in our ministry in Brazil. A group of about 60 American volunteers from CWE (Christians for Worldwide Evangelism) helped with the construction of our sixth church building in the city of Goiania. More importantly than that was the construction of lives. Their visit caused a great spiritual impact in the lives of several young people in the community. We plan to inaugurate the building in July! This past week, our first church, also in Goiania held a family conference. One of our supporting pastors was the keynote speaker and eight souls were saved. Praise the Lord!
FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, MANILA, John Mark and Kristin Catalan — They share the following: “Every Saturday morning a group of kids sit under a big mango tree waiting for us to come and tell them a Bible story and sing songs. It is encouraging to see their excitement about Jesus.EUROPE, SCOTLAND, ABERDEEN, Rick and Sarah Demastus — They share the following with prayer needs: “We were able to start holding a bi-weekly service at the Torry Care Home over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, someone did not like us there, so we were moved to once a month. We are still thankful we can be a blessing to Graham and others by singing hymns and preaching God’s Word.SOUTH AMERICA, PERU, Lee and Eva Johnson — They share the following: “I received calls from two pastors from two major cities in Peru, with the desire to start Deaf ministries in their churches. With joy in our hearts, Eva and I were excited over the great news, because we know that it is the direction the Lord is leading us, in working with the Deaf. Now it is a matter of planning and organizing for these future events! Please pray for us that God will give us wisdom.WEST AFRICA, NIGERIA, PORT HARCOURT, David and Rose Maskey — They share the following report: “First of all, in February we were with our church plant in Omagwa for their 3rd anniversary. Pastor B. B. hosted us for a day of soul winning on Friday, the 21st with about 40 members from both Omagwa and Port Harcourt churches.SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, Dave and Debbie Board — They share the following: “We were thrilled to experience a packed auditorium filled with believers who enthusiastically joined together to praise the Lord through song, testimony, and fellowship. During the service, we raised more than $4,000 in a special offering to help build an auditorium for one of our church plants located in TaKeo Province, to build on a plot of land that one of the families donated to the church. The members also voted, by God’s grace to increase their missions giving by $105 per month, which in the present economy here represents a significant step of faith.CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, GRENADA, ST. ANDREW, Coco Chan — She gives the following report: “My 22-year-old Toyota RV-4 had been doing a great job since I purchased it in 2021. However, the engine quit at the end of March. How I wished it would have lasted ten more days till school closed for Easter break, but God’s timing was not mine. I chose to trust Him. The ministries I am involved in rely heavily on a vehicle and the Lord graciously provided me a rental car in two days. Although the rental car was too big for my liking, I managed well. Praise God for His protection. We thank God for his goodness and faithfulness to us in these eight years and look forward to many more years to come. We are grateful for the privilege of serving Him in Grenville, St. Andrew, and to bring light to the community. USA MILITARY, JAPAN, ATSUGI-ZAMA, Ed and Elvie Navato — They share the following: “By God’s grace, we are committed to soul winning and Gospel tract distribution across from the base main gate, in local neighborhoods, and by placing tracts in residential mailboxes outside the military base. Praise the Lord, first-time visitors all prayed to receive Christ! Pray that they will continue to attend Freedom Baptist Church (FBC) and commit to discipleship. I have contacted Crestwood Baptist Church in Georgia, USA, to request follow-up on N. FBC also distributed 1,000+ Gospel fans during the Atsugi Base Spring Festival. Your prayers and financial support make an eternal difference. May the Lord richly bless you for His glory.” 
SOUTH AMERICA, Argentina, Larry and Alma Owens — They share the following report: “We had our summer camp this year with 90 young people participating. The Lord worked in a great way with young people getting saved and many decisions being made for the Lord. It was great to see them continue in the Lord.EUROPE, BELGIUM, Brent and Jen Hoffman — They share the following: “February once again was a good month for our church. We have been consistently packed out with only a few seats open. Every single week seems to bring more and more visitors. We have had some come for a few weeks and we have had some that really enjoy it and continue to come. The mix of people we have here is incredible as well. Christians from Africa, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, South America, and the States are all in church and serving the Lord here in Belgium.
CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, GRENADA, Joseph and Donalie Childers — They share the following report: “Our church has been in a place of great unity for the past year, but that has been challenged by the one long-time member in particular, and I believe it is hindering us from moving forward. Please pray for God’s wisdom in dealing with this situation and individual and for His will to be done. USA MILITARY, GERMANY, BAUMHOLDER, Joseph and Laura Passaro — They share the following: “When we look back through 2024, one of the great things to happen was to see our church revive from PCS (Permanent Change of Station) change. This is when soldiers get a new assignment for duty, which is usually back in the States. It is a time when we see the church look empty for a time but then watch God bring in new people, both Christians and people looking for the truth. This PCS change usually occurs about every three years, but as we have mentioned, God always provides!WEST AFRICA, COTE D’IVORE, BINGERVILLE, Bob and Rebekah Mach — They share the following report: “Recently, we convened an ordination council to consider five candidates for the ministry. All of these candidates have finished their training at our institute. Three of these candidates are from our Bingerville church. The other two candidates were from autonomous churches without pastors and these churches asked us if the same council could examine their candidates at the same time as ours. We gave consent. The ordination council included 14 national pastors and three American missionaries. After four hours of rather intensive questioning, we broke for lunch. After eating, I met with the ordination council who indicated their satisfaction with the answers given by the candidates. The ordination council determined to recommend these three local churches ordain their candidates.FAR NORTH, QUEBEC, MONTREAL, Josh and Katie Pate — They share the following report: “Thank you for praying for our recent trip to the Ivory Coast. The Lord blessed the trip and everything went well as we ‘closed up shop’ with our house and personal belongings. We are forever grateful for the opportunity the Lord gave us to minister in West Africa; the Ivory Coast, its people, and our fellow missionaries will always hold a special place in our hearts. Because of your investment in our ministry, there will be eternal spiritual fruit that abounds to your account (Philippians 4:17). During our recent trip, we were grateful for the opportunity to preach twice in the church plant at Anan and to make several key visits. Katie and I are grateful for BIMI missionaries Josh and Alyssa Clay and the hospitality that they demonstrated to us during our visit; it was an answer to our prayer to see how the Lord has prepared them to continue the work in Anan with the church plant. Please be in prayer for them as they take this new role and for the Lord’s blessing on the church plant.
SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Daniel and Lisa Files — They share the following: “This past month we were asked to help in a camp for missionary kids. MKs from Southeast Asia came to Thailand for the week. We did all the normal things you would do at camp there in America. Many of these kids’ families are serving where they do not have opportunities to fellowship with other Americans, so it was a great blessing to them. When you pray for missionaries, do not forget to think of their children.
CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, QUERETARA, Tim and Brittany Pontius — They share the following with prayer needs: “You may recall our church’s handing out tracts at the Christmas parade back in December. We did hand out many tracts and John/Romans Scripture portions. As a result of that, a man took his family to visit Iglesia Bautista Fidelidad and they have returned a few times since their initial visit. Each member of the family gave testimony of being saved prior to receiving our invitation, but his family has been looking for a church for some time. What a great blessing it is to see the Lord work!
EAST AFRICA, KENYA, KISUMU, Luke and Tonya Shelby — They share the following report with prayer needs: “We are pleased to report that electricity has now been installed at the Calvary Baptist Church in Uwasi—thanks to your generous offerings. Additionally, supplies for the orphanage will be arriving shortly, allowing the children to begin living on the compound. It is a great blessing to see the progress! The church building project continues to move forward as the church members are actively making bricks to finish the building. Despite the many challenges in the community, this faithful group has remained committed to seeing God’s work continue. J. N. is stepping up to lead the church, and I will be working closely with him, mentoring him as he prepares to become the next pastor! Please keep him in your prayers as he takes on this important role.
SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Jeff Gross — He shares the following report with prayer needs: “During one of our visits to the university, I talked with a student. She came for dinner at our foundation and also attended a church service. After her second visit to the service, we were able to sit down and discuss creation and salvation with her from the Bible. We were encouraged to report that she accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior.
USA MINISTRIES, NORTH CAROLINA, HENDERSONVILLE, Ed and Barbara O’Brien — They share the following report: “Please continue to pray for those who were affected by Hurricane Helene and are still lacking in places to live or are in need of food and clothing. We were saddened to see those special needs. We have had many things donated and have been able to share with many of these people. The Lord has used these opportunities to reach out and see several people come to know Christ as their Savior.FAR NORTH, CANADA, NEW BRUNSWICK, Saint-Quentin, Dan and Jennifer Post. They share the following report — “Our theme for 2025 is ‘Going Forward in 2025.’ We want to go forward in family units, as a church, and in the Christian life. We have started a couples’ class on Sunday afternoons and this is something new to many; however, it is necessary for the couples who attend. In a few months, Lord willing, we will start classes on basic doctrines and what it mean to be a member of a local church. Later in the year, we will have additional classes on Christian growth. Thank you for joining us in praying that God will work in these three areas of our ministry.CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, BELMOPAN, CAYO, Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer— They share the following with prayer requests, “Several months ago, we asked you to pray for a boy whose mom was keeping him from attending church. God has worked so marvelously through his young life. Not only is he still faithfully attending church but also he has been bringing his three cousins to church since the beginning of January! We also had the joy of seeing his grandmother, brother, and uncle attend church for the first time recently. Please continue to pray for him as he so faithfully follows God and points his family to the Lord.USA MILITARY, JAPAN, KANAGAWA, ATSUGI-ZAMA, Ed and Elvie Navato— They share the following: “God provided our church with a van, and our Van Ministry began! Pray for riders at the base that we can bring to our church! We are ordering church van ads. Pray that many people will see these ads and take notice of the new church plant in the area.”SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, Nate and Christine Saint—They share the following with prayer needs: “A lady had been baptized as a teenager but did not get saved until much later. As I discussed biblical baptism with her, she realized that she had not really been baptized and agreed to get baptized. Her husband took off from his activities that day just to come see her baptismal. Please continue to pray for him. He is a devout Roman Catholic. He was studying to be a deacon but was rejected since he was married to a non-Catholic. We are praying that the rejection might cause him to question all that he has been taught.
CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, MEXICO CITY, E. Josue and Rebekah Ortiz—They share the following: “God has blessed our ministry in ways we cannot even number . . . But we have a big problem—not enough space! A few years ago, we were able to raise enough money to buy some property and build an auditorium (2,280 sq. ft.). However, after a couple of years trying, we have not been able to purchase the land due to serious legal problems with the land (the owner died without signing the title deed). However, what we have been seeing as a problem, might have been really a redirection. Why? Because when we raised the money a few years ago, our church had a little over 200 people. Today, we are a congregation of more than 600 and STILL GROWING! So here is the secret: we have found a larger space for a cheaper price per square foot than the one we were trying to buy! Isn’t that amazing? This is a 7,500 square foot property that could allow us to build a 500-seat auditorium! We already have the money that we were going to use to buy the prior piece of land, and if the new owner would accept it as a down payment, and allow us to make payments for the rest, then we may really have a new home for our church! Please pray for this, we will keep you posted!
CENTRAL AMERICA, EL SALVADOR, SANTA ANA, Cesar and Christine Cerna—They share the following report: “By God’s grace we were able to knock on all the doors of our neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods last year. This year will mark the 3rd straight year that we have done this. Since we know that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, we always expect God to work in people’s hearts even if they do not know who we are. Although the method may seem impersonal and ineffective to some, God has brought forth results this way! Of course, the method stops being impersonal the more we knock on the same doors and neighborhoods. Please pray that we would boldly continue to witness to people at their doors and that the Holy Spirit of God would bring conviction to their hearts. We also want to continue to be sensitive in being used of God to reach people with other methods.
WEST AFRICA, COTE D’IVOIRE (IVORY COAST), Kristine McLaughlin—She writes, “In the village ministry, we often begin the new year with a special meeting. Testimonies are given, ministry progress goals are discussed, and an Ivoirian meal is shared. It’s a wonderful time enjoyed by all!FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, PARANAQUE, TAHANAN VILLAGE, Mark and Kristin Catalan—They share the following: “We praise the Lord for continuously blessing our efforts to share the Gospel here in the Philippines. One significant blessing and answered prayer is that we were able to share the Gospel with some children and their parents in our community. One Saturday morning, we and some of our people were specifically praying to start a Bible Kids Club. That same morning we saw some children playing on the streets and felt led by God to reach out to them. On that same day, God led us to the right person to talk to—a community leader—and we asked for permission to gather the children and start teaching them Bible lessons. The community leader agreed and mentioned they had been waiting for someone to do exactly that! It was one of those moments when we saw God answer prayer right before our eyes. Our hearts were filled with joy, and we praise God for that. We were able to teach the children under a mango tree for several Saturdays. We shared the Gospel with them the very first time and asked if any would like to know Jesus and be saved. All of them expressed a desire to know for sure how to be saved, and we led them to the Lord. There were around 30 children, including a few parents that we individually talked to. Please continue to pray as we plant the seeds of the Word of God in our community.”EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, Dan and Amie Dwire—They share the following report: “We had a great Friday Market Outreach in December. Many of our church family were able to participate throughout the day, and we were encouraged to see even our Faith Baptist Church children sharing the Gospel with other children. We also enjoyed recent testimonies from our church family of friends and family members they had been able to lead to the Lord since the start of the year.EUROPE, SPAIN, MADRID, Larry and Brenda Writesel—They share the following with prayer needs: “We celebrated the one-year anniversary of Iglesia Biblical Bautista de Fuenlabraba on January 12. We had over 20 visitors and many stood up during the invitation to know more about salvation. Our guest preachers did a wonderful job of presenting the Gospel plan clearly. We enjoyed some cake and fellowship after. We also had a teachers’ meeting later in the month, inviting all who want to be a part of teaching Sunday school. The ladies of the church had a great meeting in January as well. More than 10 ladies participated and were blessed by the fellowship, the food, and the fun! The pastor’s wife gave the devotional and all who attended were thankful.
CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Jeffri and Pamela Polanco—They share the following report: “After a church service, Pam shared the Gospel with a teen girl visiting for the first time. She had many questions and was deeply moved as she listened. She asked, ‘How can I know I am being genuine? I really want to be saved.’ After pouring out her heart, she turned to Christ, asking for forgiveness. She left full of joy, confidently telling Pam, ‘I know I am saved now!’ Since then, she has faithfully attended church and will soon be baptized. It is a joy to see what God is doing in her life!EUROPE, GERMANY, MAINZ, Walter and Thrasilla Hornung—They share the following: “We are very grateful and thankful for the Lord’s working and blessing in HIS church here in Mainz. Almost every Sunday our wonderful Savior is sending first-time visitors to our services to hear the important message of Salvation. About three months ago, four men and one lady followed the Lord in Scriptural baptism. This is always a great victory. A few Sundays ago, a young Italian couple stated their desire to serve the Lord fervently and also follow Him in Believer’s Baptism. Two other ladies also wish to be Scripturally baptized.
USA MINISTRIES, NEW MEXICO, SHEEPSPRINGS, John and April McDaniel—They share the following report: “A new year brings new opportunities to serve the Lord. Last month, we began helping Mexican Water Baptist Church, a small congregation on the Navajo reservation in Mexican Water, Arizona. The church is about a 2-hour drive from us and has a faithful group of 20–30 Navajo believers who are hungry for the Word of God. They have been greatly encouraged by the preaching and fellowship, so we plan to continue visiting them each month to strengthen and support them until God provides a pastor. The need among the Navajo people is great, and we are grateful for the opportunity to serve. In March, April will be speaking at a ladies meeting, and we have several missions conferences coming up as well. Please pray that through these opportunities, we can be a blessing and an encouragement to those we serve.SOUTH AMERICA, ARGENTINA, BURNOS AIRES, D. A. and Debbi Brosius—They share the following: “January is camp month with camps for three different age groups. In total we sent 51 campers and seven counselors. A team from our church, which our daughter Shana led, was asked to teach the children’s camp week. A lot of work and prayer was put into the camp season, and we were thankful for six professions of faith. Other decisions were also made, especially in the teen camp.
USA MILITARY, GERMANY, KAISERSLAUTERN, Phillip (Rusty) and Karen Pilalas—They share the following with prayer needs: “In November, we had four new babies born, and we have three more coming in the next few months. With most of our congregation here without extended families in the area, we fill that void. There are baby showers, helping with the older siblings, then a week of meals for the families. Watching these young families grow and honor God during such pivotal times in their lives is amazing.SOUTH AFRICA, Richard and Laura Badgett—They write, “The Mashadza Baptist Church is coming along with the groundwork with the septic being completed, the water diversion mostly finished, and the strong room mostly finished as well. We hope to begin having Sunday services there in a month or so. We are looking for a supplier of pre-engineered buildings to get a substantial Tabernacle built to have services under. The neighbors are anticipating the start and we are praying that many will become a part of the ministry there. The Legogote Baptist Church will lose some members, but those seasoned believers will be a great gift to this new church. Thank you to those who have given to this church project.
EUROPE, FRANCE, BOVES, Cary and Susan Abbott —They share the following with prayer needs: “By God’s grace, we hope to continue the children’s ministry (children’s club and teens’ club every other Saturday). This month we are also picking up the ladies’ meetings and the men’s prayer breakfast.
SOUTH AMERICA, GUYANA, Noel and Charlene Shrivnauth—They share the following report: “We celebrated the Christmas season with several events. The first was a Senior Saints Christmas meal for the seniors of our church. They all had a blast! Our church teens brought in a little Christmas present for each of them. At the start of the Christmas week, we set up what we called a Christmas Tract Table in a shopping center. We gave out 768 John and Romans with an invitation to visit our church. Fourteen people got saved at that table! One man came to church, was saved, and was baptized. He is coming to church.USA MINISTRIES TO THE DEAF, GEORGIA, SMYRNA, Bruce and Vicki Kelly—CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, BELMOPAN, CAYO, Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer —They share the following: “At the end of November, we celebrated one of our favorite Belizean holidays—Harvest. This year we also incorporated an international dinner after the service. People dressed up in cultural clothes and brought cultural food to share. Belize is a melting pot of many different cultures, so there was a big variety. We had some first-time visitors. One young man is a former Mennonite who recently fled from the Community. I talked with him about his salvation, but he is not ready to accept God’s gift. He has been hurt by some things that happened in the Mennonite Community and is trying to decide if he even wants to follow the Lord. Please pray for this young man as he weeds through his spiritual confusion and pain.
USA MINISTRIES, NEW YORK, THE BRONX, Alan and Sabrina Davis—They share the following report: “After traveling down on one Saturday morning to Manhattan to preach the funeral of a Chinese man, we parked in a garage that cost $40 for just a few hours! It is interesting that the monthly fee for parking was over $800 per month. Anyway, the man’s brother interpreted in one of the Chinese dialects for me. I preached on the resurrection of Lazarus in John 11. The powerful Gospel of Jesus Christ was proclaimed, but I was a little discouraged over the fact that nobody raised his hand for salvation. The devil comes immediately when the Word/Seed is sown.USA MINISTRIES TO THE DEAF, GEORGIA, SMYRNA, Bruce and Vicki Kelly—CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, GRENADA, ST. ANDREWS, GRENVILLE, Coco Chan—She shares the following report: “An older lady used to attend our church services and she loved to sing praises unto the Lord. I was amazed at how many hymns she memorized. She used to live with her son but was moved into a nursing home early this year due to declining health. We surprised her with a box of food, goodies, and some necessities, and of course, we sang hymns with her. We also delivered a goodie bag and Christmas cards made by our church children and students at school to every resident in the home. Our visit truly warmed the hearts of the residents for many of them had no family to care for them. We thank the Lord for allowing us to bring His light to the community!
SOUTHEAST ASIA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA BIBLE PROJECT, Alan and Donna Brooks—They share the following with prayer needs: “During October and November, many young people received Bibles. Pastor Ronald Likins of East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea, traveled to several remote areas presenting the Gospel and distributing Bibles to Latlat Primary School, Tinganolam Junior Primary School, and Bitapetep Primary School. It was such a blessing to see the involvement of national pastors and laymen as they travel, speaking to the students and giving out Bibles. I could not do this without their help. It is a great opportunity to reach their ‘Jerusalem.’ More Bibles were distributed to Holola Demonstration School by Pastor Holmes and the young men of Morota Baptist Church. Brother Pomat from Calvary Baptist Church in Lae traveled out to the Geram Primary School in Mutzing Village in the Markham Valley. He shared that the teachers there expressed supreme gratitude for the Bibles. Travel to these areas can be a challenge and the bridges are not always secure.USA MINISTRIES TO THE DEAF, GEORGIA, SMYRNA, Bruce and Vicki Kelly—EAST AFRICA, KENYA, KISUMU, Luke and Tonya Shelby—They share the following with prayer requests: “Our Bible college opened for the new year with 50 new students, bringing our current enrollment to over 115 students across the Certificate, Diploma, and Pastoral programs. We are excited to see God’s work in the lives of these students and we will provide more detailed updates next month once I have visited all 10 branches and completed the first month of classes.SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, Dave and Debbie Board—They share the following: “FRIEND DAY this month brought more than 200 adult visitors. This special annual event’s purpose was to provide an opportunity for our lost friends to hear a clear presentation of the Gospel through testimonies and the preaching of the Word of God. Through follow up over the past several weeks, we have seen several of our friends place their faith in Jesus Christ and become part of the church family. Join us in praying that those who are not open to the Gospel will have a change of heart!USA MINISTRIES TO THE DEAF, GEORGIA, SMYRNA, Bruce and Vicki Kelly—USA MINISTRIES, NORTH CAROLINA, HENDERSONVILLE, Ed and Barbara O’Brien— They share the following report with prayer needs: “Christmas was a tremendous blessing this year. We normally try to give out a gift to each of the children, but this year the Lord provided and abundance of gifts for all of our children and even gifts for our adults. Everyone received a new coat to protect them from the cold weather of winter. We are thankful for God’s blessings upon our people and for churches who wanted to be a blessing.
CENTRAL AMERICA, HONDURAS, Matt and Dallita Goins—They share the following: “We are happy to report an answer to prayer! We have been praying for God to provide a van for use in the church plant with the Grace and Truth Baptist Church in El Progresso. Thanks be to God’s generous people, we received the final funds necessary to purchase a used Toyota vehicle van in excellent condition that can be used for years to come in Gospel ministry. It has already made a tremendous difference in ministry! Thank you to all who prayed and who participated in giving.USA MINISTRIES TO THE DEAF, GEORGIA, SMYRNA, Bruce and Vicki Kelly—FAR NORTH, CANADA, TORONTO, Cory and April McTague—They share the following report: “November 3 was a very momentous day for us at Sparrow. After six years of meeting in a Town Hall, our church held their first service in an actual church building! After years of praying that God would provide a more permanent and visible church location, those prayers were answered. We had a marvelous first day with many visitors from others churches coming in to show support at our launch service. This made this our highest day ever with 54 people.
WEST AFRICA, GHANA, TEMA, Fredrick and Antoinette Kearney—They share the following with prayer needs: “We are closing out the year believing God wants more. We are overjoyed and grateful that the Lord has answered our prayers! After payment and 13 weeks of praying, we finally received the official building permit with stamped building plans signed by all entities of the Ashaimen Municipal. Our people continue to give of their resources toward the project. We have raised money toward the first phase and are trusting the Lord for the rest. Now we need all hands on board, as we would like to invite building teams to come and make our dreams a reality." USA MINISTRIES TO THE DEAF, GEORGIA, SMYRNA, Bruce and Vicki Kelly—They give the following report: “In October, a deaf man came to me after I preached in our Deaf church. He wanted to know about Jesus and so we went to my office. I explained to him about salvation and another deaf man saw me witnessing to him, and so he joined us to hear about Jesus. Both received the Lord Jesus! Praise God!
SOUTH AFRICA, ZwaZula-Natal, HILLCREST, Jeff Demarest—He writes, “Lighthouse Baptist Church continues to grow and several new visitors have returned a second and third time. This fruit is from our Wednesday Prayer and Bible Study at a member’s house. We provide a meal before we sit down to God’s Word. Last week there were 13 adults and 8 children to whom he could teach a lesson.
SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Jeff Gross—He shares the following report with prayer needs: “Christmas opened a great door for us to give meaning to the name of Jesus. In December, our church was invited to a school to perform a Christmas play and explain what the birth of Christ really means. We did some Christmas hymns, a play, and gave a Gospel presentation. Some banners were displayed, and one of our young men described the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, we also rented a table at a local market to sell cookies and brownies from our bakery. One group used the opportunity to hand out tracts and meet new people. We had a Christmas postcard printed and the meaning of Christmas on the backside for the occasion. We thank you for your prayers and support.
EUROPE, IRELAND, DUBLIN, Dan and Beth Canavan—They share the following: “It has been a tradition in Hope Baptist Church to have a Children’s Christmas Play. The children were a little hesitant to be part of it this year as they all claim to be shy. Dan came into the Sunday school class and encouraged them to be a part of it. SO the children agreed! They went from hesitant to excited as they worked hard learning their parts. They did a wonderful job and everyone remembered all their lines. We had several visitors that evening of which two of them returned the next Sunday! Please pray that these two teen boys will continue to come and they will be saved!USA MILITARY, JAPAN, Ed and Elvie Navato—They share the following: “Thirteen made professions of faith” and four were baptized. Please pray for their discipleship. We started having Sunday worship services in our apartment living room with only one attendee in January 2024, but the Lord provided a new church building space! We had our Grand Opening Sunday in October 2024 with Guest Missionary Pastor McKittrick, 24 attending with two professions of faith! Now, we are averaging 12 in our Sunday morning service plus the visitors. We had our many ‘first’ lunch-fellowships: Veteran’s Sunday, Thanksgiving Sunday, and Christmas Sunday in our church building.SOUTH AMERICA, ARGENTINA, San Miguel de Tucuman, Larry and Alma Owens—They share the following: “Our men went to a town called Chicligasta. It was out in the country and difficult to get to. They had a tremendous meeting in a park with many people coming out. There were decisions for Christ. Pray that we can get a meeting place or a house in which to meet so we can start a church in this town. There are serious problems that when it rains, the roads are very difficult.
WEST AFRICA, REPUBLIC OF CAPE VERDE, São Vicente, Nathan and Christina Fritz—They share the following: “We are continually challenged by the faith of the national believers. We have mentioned the possibility of a church plant in our letters this year; as of yet, this has not happened and we are praying much about God’s timing for us. We are thankful for the fruit we have seen from our efforts this year. We believe that the Lord builds His church, pray that we will be faithful in our part—proclaiming the life-changing truth of God’s Word.USA CLAIM MINISTRY, Joe and Linda Leleaux—They share the following: “Brother Mike West and I were able to go to Elizabethton, Tennessee, and construct a 30’ x 14’ deck roof for a house that is used to house Filipino pastors and their wives while they are visiting churches in the United States. The project went well, and the local pastor and the Filipinos were very happy with what was accomplished. This work was completed just three weeks before the hurricane went through the area. Much damage was done in that area of Tennessee, but as far as I know, our work survived the onslaught.
FAR EAST, TAIWAN, TAIPEI CITY, Jon and April Flowers—They share the following report: “In our last letter, we shared about some of the men and their families. I am excited to share with you that the son of one couple trusted Christ as his Savior. After a Sunday service in October, his father asked me if I would be willing to talk with him. He prayed and accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. I thank God for the opportunity to share God’s Word with him and thankful for a burdened father. The father and his wife love their children and want them all to be saved. We are so thankful for men like him. Please pray for him as he recently found out he had cancer. He has started chemotherapy treatments and will soon begin radiation treatments as well.EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, KAMPALA, James and Cheryl Pridgen—They share the following report: “We had four students graduate from East Africa Baptist College in Kampala. One of the graduates was ordained and the other two men plan to get ordained soon in their home churches. We also had many visiting pastors for the graduation as well as for the Christian Leadership Conference. We have the graduation ceremony on the last day of the conference so that pastors can meet our students. It was also a blessing as we took a special offering to help some churches with special needs. We were able to buy iron sheets for a church that had been meeting in their building for a year without a roof. We also were able to help a church that had to rebuild some of the church walls. We also had two students finish another level of training at Arua.EUROPE, SPAIN, PARLA (MADRID), Julio and Andrea Velasquez—They share the following: “A month ago we had our monthly men’s meeting in the morning and our yearly Christmas party for the ladies. There were 30 in attendance including four ladies who are not believers in Christ. They were presented with the Gospel and we pray that their hearts will be moved to come to Christ. Our Christmas program was on December 22. We had a couple of musical pieces by our children’s choir and a flute and piano special. The young people presented a skit on the true meaning of Christmas! Please pray for the visitors who came on that Sunday.CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, MATA BONITA, Jeffri and Adrian Polanco —The share the following: “The work here in Mata Bonita continues to thrive! We have seen sturdy growth and many visitors and professions of faith. In fact, we are already outgrowing our new space faster than we anticipated! Praise God for this challenge! Please pray as we work toward organizing a baptismal service soon (possibly in a nearby creek).CENTRAL AMERICA, PANAMA, SAN MIGUELITO, CERRO BATEA, Franklin and Brenda Booth—They share the following with prayer needs: “Three of our young men just graduated from the Bible Institute. Please pray that the Lord will guide them in His perfect will. Each one is very active in soul winning, teaching, and preaching in our local churches. Additionally, each one will take one weekend a month and travel three and one half hours to win souls and help with a future church plant in Meteti.
FAR NORTH, GREENLAND, ILULISSAT, Gage and Aleah Gilbert —They share the following: “We continue to thank the Lord for the ministry opportunities in the prison. There are two sides to the prison here in Ilulissat. On one side, the prisoners are locked in and cannot leave. On the other side, the prisoners have freedom, mainly to go into town for work or groceries. Gage and Brother Chris go into the lockdown side of the prison and hold Bible studies there. That side of the prison seems to have a fast turnaround as every three or four months men are moved to another facility or are awaiting sentencing. While this has allowed us to present the Gospel to many men, it has also made it harder to build long-term relationships with them. However, on the less strict side of the prison the men are usually there for longer periods of time, perhaps up to two to three years or longer. This past week Gage was leaving the prison and several men on the other side of the prison stopped him asking him about who he was, why he was in Ilulissat, and what he was doing at the prison. Several of these men seemed very open to having a Bible Study with them as well. Please pray with us that relationships would be built and their hearts opened to understand and accept the Good News of Jesus Christ!
US MILITARY, SPAIN, ROTA, Michael and DeAnna Staley —They share the following report: “We had our 3rd annual Thanksgiving dinner at the church with 27 people attending. Besides the meal, the kids and teens played table games and decorated gingerbread houses that a lady in the church made while the adults played an outside game. We tried to offer a feeling of home for the holidays to those who are far away from theirs. Even though many people travel over Thanksgiving weekend, the Lord filled the church on Sunday!USA MINISTRIES, NEW YORK, THE BRONX, Alan and Sabrina Davis —They share the following: “During my time in NYC, I have had many trials. First, when driving some people home after church, a car hit us in the rear. When I got out, he attacked me punching me in the stomach and knocking me down. Second, while holding some money in my left hand, a guy tried to take it away from me, popping me in the jaw. Third, while giving out tracts in the Bronx, a lady was in my face screaming and yelling. Fourth, once a guy pulled out a big gun, sticking it in my side, robbing me of $111. And, fifth, when I gave one man a tract he threw a full can of coke or beer at me, but God protected me! Both Sabrina and I agree that NYC is getting more dangerous.CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO CITY, Josue and Rebekah Ortiz—They share the following report: “We are humbled to see what the Lord has done in eight years of ministry. We can hardly believe that it has been that long, but we are thankful to be here and to be a part of the experience of the kingdom in Mexico. In September, we celebrated our 8th anniversary and the whole church gathered together in one location that we rented here just for that day. Over 600 people came to be a part of a service to celebrate God’s Word and the power of it! After all, it is all because of the Word that it is possible.
When we came to Mexico many years ago, we came to plant churches and to train more church planters. We have already planted three churches by the grace of the Lord, and now we have officially started the preparations for the next one. . . . Please pray for S. and his family as they will be heading up this new endeavor.”
SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN, Mark and Katie Gerosin—They share the following with prayer needs: “We recently went soul winning in a nearby park and while there I got to preach the Gospel to a young man. I went through the entire Gospel message as clearly as I could. As it often happens, I could not convince him to trust Christ. I started over and went over each point making sure he completely understood. I then invited him to trust Christ one more time. He then made a decision to believe on Jesus! Praise the Lord!” 
CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Eric and Holly Johnson—They share the following with prayer needs: “In October, we experienced a momentous occasion as the Bridge Baptist Church, our third church plant, celebrated its fifth anniversary. Under the leadership of Pastor E.V., this congregation has seen many people saved, baptized, and growing in the Lord. It has been nothing short of miraculous! For this special day, we were privileged to have missionary Jeffri Polanco with us to challenge us from the Word. The greatest joy of the day came as several people responded to the call and confessed Christ as their personal Savior.” Please pray for this wonderful church that the Lord would continue to use them in mighty ways.”
FAR EAST, PHIIPPINES, Layne and Nelia Jones—They share the following prayer needs: “While we were in the States, many souls were saved in the Philippines! Our graduate pastors did the preaching while we were in the States and hundreds were saved in October in all the different ministries. We will be building staff houses, as they need better places to live. Some of them will be getting married. Other graduates need land and buildings and are thankful to those who have given for church buildings.”
EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, KASESE, Matt and Keila Stensaas—They share the following report with prayer needs: “Before our furlough, we had visited the village of Kajwenge with the plan of helping a man get a church started there. Upon returning, I was able to visit with C. who is heading that up and see the work that he is doing in soul winning and discipleship. I was so encouraged by the work and how it is continuing. Please pray for this church plant as it will likely be the next ‘official’ church in the Kasese District.
Another one of our faithful men was recently married. He found his bride in one of our churches up in the mountains. What a blessing that he found his wife in another independent Baptist church! Please pray for them as they begin their new life together.”EUROPE, ESTONIA, TALLINN, Rob and Angela Willoughby—They share the following: “Fall weather means the coming of the first fall event. Harvest Sunday we had a great time of fellowship, October 13, with two families.FAR NORTH, CANADA, TORONTO, Cory and April McTague—They share the following: “‘Do you know the pastor there?’ was a question I was asked by one or our church members. He was referring to the Baptist church across the street from our church office. . . . The church pastor agreed to let us rent his entire building every Sunday afternoon for less money than we were currently paying at the Town Hall. Our church people excitedly got on board with the plan and the needed expenses for this new space. The auditorium of this 75-year-old building had 75% of the lights burned out. With the joint efforts of our congregation and theirs, we began the processing of replacing the lights. In our search, we found the price for replacement to be more than either congregation could pay. In negotiations with a local electrician, he agreed to do the job for half of the originally quoted price. He later told me, ‘I knew when I saw your people helping others that I have to help them!’ Throughout the process of negotiations, repairs, and rental contacts, God has amazed us every step of the way. Not only was the opportunity miraculous but also the provisions needed to begin using this space. God’s name has truly been exalted among the heathen.”
USA MILITARY MINISTIRES, JAPAN, Danny and Haruna McKittrick—They share the following: “We hit the ground running after our furlough. We are back in Japan and had the privilege to preach at a new military church plant on October 6. Pastor and Mrs. Ed Navato have planted Freedom Baptist Church, a new US military church just outside of Atsugi Naval Air Facility here in Japan. Pastor Navato secured a building and they have been having services there for three weeks. On October 6, they held their Grand Opening Sunday and we had a wonderful time. The place was packed out with several first-time visitors. Two visitors called on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation in the morning service! I was overcome with joy just thinking that as our world makes so much ado about the temporal things, our God is fully invested in the eternal things like the planting of Freedom Baptist Church!”
EUROPE, SPAIN, JAEN, Michael and Jen Helton—They share the following report with prayer needs: “In September and October we witnessed an explosion of growth in our church. We held our first back-to-school event with great success. Everyone got involved and we had several visitors. It was a great start for the fall season.
SOUTHEAST ASIA, AUSTRALIA, QUEENSLAND, NORTH LAKES, Joe and Melissa Marshall—They share the following report with prayer requests: “From the 23rd and 28th of September, we had our annual Men & Boys Camp with a great time of fellowship, camp fire discussions, and question time in the Word of God. It is great to see the friendships formed through this time together. Also, this year we had many people step up to help in many ways with the camp.”SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Daniel and Lisa Files—They share the following report: “The past couple of months have been busy here with several parts of the country being devastated with flooding. Thankfully, the area where we live has not been affected much and we are at the tail end of the rainy season.
FAR NORTH, CANADA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, BURNABY, Russell and Lisa Mackay—They share the following: “Our Learning Centre is off to a great start, and the students are doing well in their schoolwork and in their spiritual lives. In September, we were able to spend a morning with our college and career young people and encourage them as they begin another year of school and work. Our teens attended a Youth Conference in September, and the preaching was a great help to them. We had a Couples’ Fall Activity at the apple orchard and God really blessed the preaching time at this event. Our Canadian Thanksgiving outreach was well attended again this year, and we had at least 10 first-time visitors who heard the Gospel. One prayed to accept Christ after the service and four said they would be interested in a Bible Study. We began Bible Studies with two people two weeks ago. Please pray for them to be saved!EUROPE, FRANCE, BOVES, Carey and Susan Abbett—They report the following: “We are encouraged to see visitors pass through the church. One man in particular has been attending regularly on Sunday and Tuesday. Another lady and her daughter have been coming regularly and asked for prayer for her husband. He is not saved, but we are thankful that he has been attending with them in recent days.CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, Jeremy and Michelle Blanz—They share the following: “Last month was our first ‘Missions Emphasis Month.’ Jeremy preached on ‘Our Great Commission’ and ‘How To Become Fishers of Men.’ On the last two Sundays, we had two young men present their ministries and preach for us. It was a blessing to us to host other missionaries and teach the church how to love and support missionaries. On our weekly evangelism we had anywhere from 5–12 people out knocking on doors and sharing the Gospel in public places. Jeremy was able to lead three people to Christ.EUROPE, SPAIN, Larry and Brenda Writesel—They share the following with prayer needs: “We have more chairs! We would like to thank Anchor Baptist Church in British Columbia for helping us with this need. We have 40 cushioned chairs for the congregation with 16 extra folding chairs for overflow needs.SOUTH AMERICA, ARGENTINA, Larry and Alma Owens—They write, “We are starting a new ministry with drug addicts. There is a tremendous need as drug addiction is killing our young people here. It is unbelievable! My son, Joshua Owens, has a man in his church who is donating about five acres for this ministry. There are people working on the property right now. One of our graduates will oversee the ministry. Praise the Lord, three of our church are actively helping him! EUROPE, IRELAND, DUBLIN, Dan and Beth Canavan—They share the following: “When we found out that the two NBT evangelists were coming a few days early, we hastily scheduled our own mini teen camp. After praying and scouring the internet, we were able to rent an old schoolhouse that has been turned into an Airbnb rental. It was on 3 acres and had a football field of sorts. We were able to get it for a reasonable price, thanks be to the Lord! Beth and I worked very hard getting ready, along with regular church responsibilities. We had a total of 17 with 3 workers, the new NBT evangelists, and 12 children. Beth did a super job preparing all the meals. In addition to games and activities, there was a lot of preaching. I preached 4 times and each of the NBT evangelists preached once. Gradually, teens’ hearts thawed as Bible truth warmed their souls. There was an excellent spirit. Immediately following this were 5 days (Sunday—Thursday) of Teen rally with the NBT teen evangelists!” Please pray for a harvest of souls among these teens.
FAR NORTH, CANADA, NEW BRUNSWICK, Dan and Jennifer Post—They share the following report: “In October we were in Oklahoma for Jennifer’s cancer treatment. Her surgery went well and the doctor said that the cancer was contained and he was able to remove everything. Praise the Lord! We had our last appointment on October 22. We returned home on October 23. SOUTH AFRICA, Richard and Laura Badgett—They share the following report: “This past week we had Believer’s Baptism services in both the village churches with 15 baptisms at Legogote Baptist Church and six at the Calvary Baptist Church for a total of 21 being baptized! This time the ladies had robes for their baptisms provided by the ladies’ sewing ministry from our home church. Interestingly, a father was baptized along with his son. I have written about the father before. He was one of the Safari guides in 2019 when a group from my home church came for ministry. His son was saved while we were on furlough and the father drew closer to the Lord as a result of those answered prayers.
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, Ribeirao Preto, Carl and Cindy Johnson —They share the following with prayer needs: “We are still needing to rebuild a house on our first church’s property in Goiania to be used as our deaf church’s new meeting place. In our last prayer letter, we presented the need for $25,000 for this project. Several additional churches and families have helped toward this need and we are very grateful. At this time, we have raised almost half of that amount. Praise the Lord! Would you prayerfully consider giving toward this project so we can reach our goal before returning to Brazil in November?
WEST AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh—They share the following prayer needs: “God continues to bless us in soul winning. We are continuing our campaign to win the family members of those in our church to the Lord! “This month alone we have had the privilege of leading four church family members to Christ. There are four siblings who have been attending church with us for just over a year. The oldest two are saved, and they wanted us to witness to their mother and eldest brother who has just finished his studies at a university in Kumasi. So recently, I was able to lead the brother to the Lord, and a week later one of our men led their mother to the Lord. Please pray with us as we teach them to grow in Christ. We thank God for how He is working in the lives of those around us. It brings great joy to see God use our soul winning efforts.”
FAR EAST, JAPAN, OKINAWA, Dan and Heidi Gardner— They write, “We have started hosting a Jr. High teen activity night each month. Right now, we have three boys, but they are so excited to get together. The one we hosted in August, one of the Bible college students came down for vacation with his wife and baby, and so I asked him to give a challenge. The student has one more year of college left. Please pray for him as he seeks where the Lord wants his family to serve.SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Jeff Gross.—He gives the following with prayer needs: “Bible Baptist Church had a good day of outreach at the university. The local university we often visit started a new term and we rented space in the cafeteria. Our group set up a couple of tables with tracts and John and Romans. We also set up an A-Frame that has three small doors with the heading ‘Three Things God Can’t Do.’ It was an excellent tool for explaining salvation. Furthermore, our group played Gospel hymns and handed out tracts to the students. In addition, we have had one university student start coming to church and have had two high school students visit. Both are not saved, but the university student is already a Christian. Please pray for these two to accept Christ.”
SOUTH AMERICA, BOLIVIA, MAGDALENA, Ernesto and Amanda Salvatierra—They share the following report: “A lot has happened since our last letter. First of all, we would like to report to you some exciting things going on here. One of the couples that we are discipling finally got married after living together for 13 years without being married. When we arrived here last year, we won them to Christ and after discipleship and counseling, they finally got married. One of the biggest challenges we have here is that there are a lot of people who have been living together for years but are not married. Pray that this couple would be blessed by the Lord in obeying Him and also that others follow through with marriage as well.”
EUROPE, GERMANY, SALZ, Dan and Tricia Dubbe—They share the following report: “This year’s motorcycle church service in September had more in attendance than ever. The church grounds were packed, the preaching was right on target, the ride after the service was accident free, and we grilled down to the last Bratwurst (sausage). This is the event during the year where the world comes to us, and our people then can present the Gospel and contact with them. Good conversations and great feedback! I ride a BMW motorcycle and I am using it as Paul said in 1 Corinthians that I might by all means win some.” Amen!EAST AFRICA, KENYA, KISUMO, Luke and Tonya Shelby—They give the following report: “We are excited about the orphanage as it is getting closer and closer to housing a few of the boys on the property as we update some of the buildings. . . . Three men have stepped up to assist in various areas, and we currently do not need additional funds for the building project. The church is raising funds for materials and we will schedule workdays to continue the progress. Thank you for your prayers.USA MINISTRIES, NEW MEXICO, SHEEPSPRINGS, John and April McDaniel—They write, “We had the privilege of baptizing six young people. One of the young ladies baptized was saved at VBS this year. She is very sweet and tenderhearted. Please continue to pray for her and her family to remain faithful to church. Another blessing was our church hosting the End of the Month Meeting. Our ladies did a fantastic job serving the guests. We had a great turnout with about 80 people and eight preachers. The preaching was on fire!USA MILITARY, SPAIN, ROTA, Michael and DeAnna Staley—They share the following report and prayer needs: “We have had to set out extra chairs in our services for the last two weeks because we have had several people, including two new families, visiting Bethel. Both men are civilians who work at the fire station on the base. Because these families have young children, we ask you to pray that we can minister to all of them and be a blessing. A lady who visits with her daughter and a couple who came to visit their grandchildren also arrived last month. Each of them stays here in Spain for 90 days and then returns to the States for 90 days. They are always faithful to attend Bethel and are a great blessing.WEST AFRICA, CABO VERDE, SAO VICENTE, Nathan and Christina Fritz—They share the following: “Vacation Bible School was a big success. We were so blessed to see the church come together and put on such a special week. The Lord gave us good weather, safety, and mostly good behavior. Pray that many of the Gospel seeds that were planted would bring forth lasting fruit. During the week, we had just over 300 children come for at least one day and a daily average of about 230. Pray for the continued work with these children and their families.SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, Nate and Christine Saint—They share the following: “The church in San Pedro continues to grow. We consistently have a close to full auditorium for our morning service with a steady flow of new and returning visitors. Please continue to pray for souls to be saved and for the saved to grow and be faithful. We still only have three families that we can count on to be in every service. Two of those families also participate in our evangelization efforts, and the men come to our Bible Institute. We would really like to see the number increase. We also plan to ordain one as our assistant pastor before the year ends. He is praying about a job opportunity that would allow him to be home every night instead of traveling all over the country and only being home on the weekends. It will most likely involve taking a pay cut, so please pray!SOUTH AMERICA, GUYANA, Noel and Charlene Shrivnauth—They share the following report: “In August, a youth conference and teen camp were held back to back by a church we helped to start many years ago. Foundation Baptist Church and their pastor did such a wonderful job with the meetings. One 124 campers came to the camp and scores attended the youth conference before camp started. The campers came from ten independent Baptist churches. During the camp, eight campers received Christ as their Savior. We are thankful for the special speakers who preached at these events. All three brought Spirit-filled messages. The young people had a very enjoyable time and made very heart-felt decisions.
Also in August, we held six medical evangelism and eye care clinics. Brother Sean Lunday and 26 who came with his Amazon CONNECT Group worked tirelessly with him. Fifty-one people made Christ their Savior in the clinics that were held with nearly 500 patients being served. And finally, we saw 96 saved and two baptisms in our ministry here at our church from July to August.”
CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, REHMOPAN, CAYO. Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer—They share the following report with prayer needs: “God is working in such mysterious and evident ways. He is already clearly answering the prayer requests from our last letter. In early July, a former Mennonite family began attending our church. Belize has many Mennonite communities. Some are old-order Mennonites that follow strict rules and others are new-order Mennonites who live much like we do. While the Lord allowed us to make connections with the Mennonites in the past, this is the first time we have had a family from the old-order community consistently attend the church. They have been faithfully attending for two months and have been getting more and more involved. The parents have a testimony of salvation, but their children are not sure of their salvation. Please pray for them as they grow in their understanding of the Lord.EUROPE, SCOTLAND, ABERDEEN, Rick and Sarah Demastus—They share the following with prayer requests: “August began with preparations to move into the west wing of Gerrard Baptist Church. The move caused certain families to move on, but we have also gained new families in the process.CARIBBEAN, BARBADOS, ST. PHILIP, Robert and Rhoda Smith—They share the following report with prayer needs: “What a wonderful month this has been in many ways. Some of our blessings:
USA MINISTRIES, TEXAS, COMMERCE, James and Andrea Mansfield—They share the following: “We have had several new visitors in our church recently. Please pray for an older couple seeking God’s will for just the right church home. We had one saved during soul-winning efforts recently and are still bringing the two boys from VBS to Wednesday night Kids Club as well as Sundays. We had a fun fourth of July picnic at our house with a huge slip and slide. 
EAST AFRICA, MOZAMBIQUE, Taylor and Lorin Norris—They share the following: “The first Sunday of July marked the Second Anniversary of Hope Baptist Church. We had a great Sunday with 135 in attendance. Three people were baptized after the service, and we had a wonderful meal and fellowship following!SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Daniel and Lisa Files—They share the following: “Our Sunday evening Bible Study and English class have been going well. There are five or six who have really been faithful to come every day and some others that come when they are not working. Daniel has been teaching this month through the first few chapters of Genesis. He has taught about the creation of man, the origin of Satan, and how sin entered the world. These people have never heard these truths before. . . . Pray for God to open their eyes to the truth and that the Holy Spirit will draw them to Christ. Specifically, pray for four unbelievers who have been coming faithfully.CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, SAN PABLO, Jeremy and Michelle Blanz—They share the following report: “On visitation, one man professed faith in Christ. At church, we had three who joined with one who is anticipating baptism. 
SOUTHEAST ASIA, NEW ZEALAND, Logan and Brittany Bankston—They share the following with prayer needs: “We are at the stage in our church growth that we now have more children and teens coming than we do adults. We have nursery age, elementary age, and teens all coming. One of the problems we are currently facing is we do not have enough people to help run everything simultaneously. We currently have all the children’s classes on Sunday morning and are looking to start a teen class on Sunday evenings. This is such an exciting problem to have, and we thank all of you for your continued prayers for this ministry.
EUROPE, FRANCE, CHARLEVILLE-MEZIERES, Danny and Janice Flowers—They share the following: “N. is a 71-year-old widow whose husband was an atheist and claimed to have zero belief in God—but never forbade her, however, from reading the Bible for herself. After his passing, she became involved in the local chapter of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Fast forward several months and she was dissatisfied because she did not feel like their teaching corresponded with the Bible she was reading. She made a hasty exit but then ended up in a Charismatic church. She stayed there for several years but their confusing and extravagant behavior left her with the strong suspicion that something was off. Then a lady in our church invited her to our services in the spring, and from the beginning we could see God moving in her heart. She had never been in a church where the Bible was explained and used exclusively as the sole authority. She was suddenly hearing how she could have eternal life and blossomed under the teaching of God’s Word. She trusted Christ in May and Janice and I have been discipling her on Thursday afternoons. Please pray for her spiritual growth!
SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN, Peter and Elisabeth Putney—They share the following: “Every year our church works together with several other like-minded churches to put on a teen camp. This year we had a great group of young people and the Lord really blessed. Our camp was three days long and the schedule was filled with games and competitions for the three teams that are competing. Most importantly, the teens hear many messages from God’s Word and memorize a lot of Scriptures. The Lord blessed in the messages and we had four young people make professions of faith in Christ. One of those was a young man who has been in our church many years but has always had a hard heart toward the things of God. One night, while praying with other leaders for the young people, he interrupted me to tell me that the Holy Spirit had been convicting his heart and that he had decided to trust Christ. It was truly a special moment and many tears over what God did in his heart.EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, KASESE, Matt and Keila Stensaas—They share the following: “God continues to work in the different ministries in Uganda for which we are grateful. It is one of the many times we have tried to teach the Ugandans—they do not need us, they simply need the Lord. Yet, the Lord has called us to be there, and we are so ready to jump back into the different ministries and even wait on the Lord’s timing to start some new ministries.
SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Christopher and Rebecca Reed—They share the following with prayer needs: “For several months now, we have asked prayer for a young man named P. He came to the church through friends. He had many questions about a virtuous life. Chris shared the Gospel of Christ—salvation through faith by grace. He asked good questions and then was in Bangkok for several weeks. Last week, he came on Sunday and told Chris that he had trusted Christ as his Savior. Praise the Lord! He is now traveling to another country for college—he will visit back here in January. Pray that he can connect with a local church body in his new location.
USA, HARRISON, TENNESSEE, WORLD MISSIONS CENTER, Dan and Sharon Daugherty—They share the following report: “Let us share some of our joy with you. God is good:SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Jeff Gross—He shares the following report with prayer needs: “Bible Baptist Church had a visitor who graduated college a few years ago. We had witnessed to him during college, but he showed little interest. However, since graduating, his life plans have not gone as expected and he fell on hard times. He came to visit a church member a few times and we were able to sit and talk with him about life and death. After a Bible Study and good discussion, he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. It is sad, but true, that people in general wait until they are in trouble before they seek God. We thank God for his salvation and for His great mercy and longsuffering. We had another man visit us. He is not saved but we will continue to work with him.”
PRAYER REQUESTS
• Salvation of three
• Salvation of university students
• Learning language & culture
• Churches in Thailand
• Seeds to take root in hearts
CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Eric and Holly Johnson—They share the following with prayer requests: “Baseball is not only America’s favorite pastime, but also it is the Dominicans’. This summer we used that shared love of baseball to share with others the love of Christ. We were blessed to have a group from Catoosa Baptist Tabernacle assist us with our most ambitious outreach to date.CENTRAL AMERICA, HONDURAS, Jason and Cassy Tate—They share the following with requests for prayer: “This year our Pastor’s Training Event saw over 140 pastors from various countries attending. The goal was to go back to the basics and re-emphasize the need for biblical ministry. We are thankful for pastors and missionaries from around Central America who joined us in the teaching this year. Thousands of dollars of Gospel tracts, books, New Testaments, and whole Bibles were given out as well. Every national pastor walked away with a leather bound Bible for his preaching.FAR NORTH, CANADA, ONTARIO, ETOBICOKE, Cory and April McTague—They share the following: “Our biggest outreach this summer is always our Day Camp (VBS). We mailed out 7,000 flyers to our neighborhood. But as the camp began approaching, we still had very few kids registered and only two workers committed to help. We continued to pray and post flyers around the neighborhood to invite campers. Three weeks prior to camp the registration began to fill up and three ladies from a supporting church in Alabama reached out to us and two young ladies from the local Bible college, where Cory teaches, volunteered to be workers. To our surprise, every day of camp one of our church people showed up to help out! We were very surprised and encouraged to see the growth in this area. We had several returning campers and seven new campers. Throughout the week, we taught the kids important truths about Jesus and the basics of salvation. It was amazing seeing the difference from day one to day five. By the end of the week, they were all quoting 3–5 verses. This was a great feat for some children who had never memorized Scripture. Before the campers go home on the last day, the parents are invited to see a small program of the things learned that week. Scripture is quoted, songs are sung, and I was able to share a short Gospel presentation. We continue to pray that these families will come and join us at church. Please pray for several for salvation. Some of these are faithfully attending, but all are in our weekly sphere of contact.”
USA MINISTRIES, CALIFORNIA, SANTA CLARA, Ken and Nancy Lalman—They share the following: “Our church continues to serve the Lord, but we faced challenges recently. We were set to baptize a young man in his 30s, but he became influenced by charismatic friends and questioned his salvation. Despite 50 attendees, I could not proceed with the baptism due to his unclear testimony. Unfortunately, he chose to be baptized by someone else, which is disheartening when one disregards God’s Word and does it that way.SOUTHEAST ASIA, AUSTRALIA, QUEENSLAND, NORTH LAKES, Joe and Melissa Marshall—They share the following with prayer needs: “Thank you for praying for Pursue Youth Camp. We had a great camp with Pastor Eaj preaching on how the Armor of God can help us to ‘Stand Firm.’ The Lord blessed with 56 attending. The Lord blessed with two settling their salvation and a number of other decisions made. We look forward to camp in 2025!
EUROPE, IRELAND, LONDONDERRY, Josh and Bethany Furan—They share the following with prayer needs: “In July we had many opportunities for Gospel ministry around the island, starting with Derry Baptist’s first missions trip in over ten years. Seven of us assisted one of our missionary friends with a holiday Bible club (VBW) they organized in County Wicklow. Over 30 kids attended each day and the Gospel was clearly presented through Scripture memory, songs, and Bible lessons. Although we could not stay for the final day, we were thankful for the news we received. On the final night, there was a rewards ceremony where the kids sang, and the Gospel was shared. Apart from the volunteers, 37 people attended, and eight adults signed up to participate in a Bible Study starting the following week! We also enjoyed the discipleship opportunities with our church people as we had daily devotions and spent quality time together. During our missions trip, we also drove an hour north to Bray to assist a church with outreach. Unfortunately, the church has lost its missionary pastor due to visa problems. . . . Please pray for Calvary Baptist of Bray!
SOUTH AMERICA, GUYANA, Robert and Abigail Cepec—They share the following with prayer requests: “We had many things going on in the ministry we are assisting and have more planned during the summer. Missionary Robert Woodard started New Life Baptist Church two years ago. We celebrated the church’s anniversary on June 23rd and had a special meal called ‘Seven Curry,’ which was served on large Lotus leaves. We also had a missions group from the States that helped with that big day and to participate in reaching the Guyanese people. They were able to be a part of our anniversary Sunday as well as go out soul winning with our church.
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, SAN CAETANO, Bryan and Rebekah Johnson —They share the following report: “God has been good! Thank you for praying for three who have been coming more faithfully. God recently spared one from serious injury when he was hit and dragged by a car while making deliveries for his job on his motorcycle. He had emergency surgery on his hand and had some damage to his leg as well. God is using this to bring him to church more often.SOUTH AMERICA, PERU, LIMA, Carolyn Pace—She writes, “When we first began the classes at the Senior Activity Center, we were happy to have one or two, but look what the Lord has done. On both Tuesday and Thursday, we have not only had more people but also there was enthusiasm and participation as well as many questions. The other classes by Zoom have also continued, which is an encouragement.USA, CLAIM MINSTRY, Joe and Linda Leleaux—They write, “Our last letter stated that we were headed to Alabama to replace a metal roof on a church building. That project was very successful in spite of our metal roof expert becoming violently ill on the last evening we were there. Fortunately, a few more volunteers arrived to take up the slack. We finished the project a day early and were able to take our friend home.USA MINISTRIES, NEW MEXICO, SHEEPSPRINGS. John and April McDaniel —They share the following: “Our summer ministry was busy but blessed. Desert Gateway Baptist Church came out to help us with VBS and it was amazing! We had about 20–25 Navajo young people in attendance. We had two vans picking up kids from Naschitti and Sheep Springs while others came with family. One Navajo girl accepted Christ, and it was a blessing to witness God working in the lives of these young people. Desert Gateway also blessed us unexpectedly by donating the audio equipment, projector, and screen they used for VBS to our ministry, which we now use regularly in our services.WESTERN EUROPE, BELGIUM, Brent and Jen Hoffman—They share the following: “Sowing and Snacks went very well for the month of July. All month we had a good turnout for canvassing the towns around us. We almost completely covered a large town with tracts, just missing a few streets that I plan to cover later on. We also covered a big section of the town of Herchies, which is where the church is. A good group of late teen and early 20s went every single time and they were a huge blessing to us. It was great to see young people getting on fire for the Lord and being faithful to serving Him. The attendance at church has been up and down a bit due to the summer travels of everybody, but we have some new people coming to church. One lady and her children started coming and jumped right into the tracting with the rest of the church the entire month.”
FAR EAST, JAPAN, OKINAWA, Dan and Heidi Gardner—They share the following: “The first week of May is Children’s Week. During this week, children are celebrated and families gather together and you will see hundreds of carp flags flying everywhere. To the Japanese, these flags represent strength and perseverance. Ironically, abortion is readily available here (in Japan), we are thankful for the opportunity to share how the Lord even cares for the little ones. Mother’s Day attendance was low this year, but we are thankful for those who did attend.FAR NORTH, CANADA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, BARNABY, Russell and Lisa Mackay—They share the follow report: “Our ‘tactathon’ is going great. We purchased 130,000 tracts, and so far this summer, our church has delivered 16,000 to homes and 3,000 to individuals on the streets. We only have about 20–25 empty seats on Sunday morning and we are working to invite 350,000 people to church. It makes my heart smile!CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, QUERETARO, Tim and Brittany Pontius— They share the following: “We are thankful that we have made significant progress with the kitchen repairs. I have replaced all of the broken wood and have reinstalled the countertops, and the sealant is currently setting around the back edges and around the sink. The painting of the new wood and reinstallation of doors and drawers also remain to be done, but we hope to have that fixed soon.
FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, Rose Pyles—She shares the following: “I have some news from the Philippines to share. As you may remember, one of our Bible school graduates started a work in Pallas, Vintar, a number of years ago. It has grown into a thriving church over the years, and he and his wife have been doing an excellent work.FAR EAST. JAPAN, AOMORI, KIRINOSAWA, Paul and Sarah Johnson—They share the following: “Last year, by God’s grace and the help of many individuals and churches, we were able to purchase the building we were currently renting for church. Our first phase will be renovation. This phase involves demolition of several apartment units and expanding them to create a temporary auditorium space, classrooms, nursery, etc. The second phase is demolition of the current auditorium space. This step is necessary because the previous owner had an unregistered addition on the portion of the building. The third phase is building a new auditorium.
Our architect submitted the plans to the city and we received our building permit last month. We are currently working on phase one. In an effort to be good stewards of the resources God has given us, we are trying to do as much of the work ourselves as possible (fellow BIMI missionaries have been helping).
We have been incredibly blessed with progress thus far. We are making great strides forward, but there is much left to do. Please pray with us that God will continue to bless as we move forward with the construction.”
WESTERN EUROPE, FINLAND, Andrew and Nicole Wippler—They share the following with prayer needs: “Our summer has been busy, and we are thrilled to report we have signed a lease for a church meeting place. This milestone brings us closer to establishing a permanent presence in Finland.SOUTH AMERICA, ARGENTINA, TUCUMAN, Larry and Alma Owens—They share the following: “We had several people from the church who passed away recently. My sons Joshua and Jose Cedron won one man to Christ about three years ago. He was practically abandoned by his family and he looked forward to coming to church each week. He had a stroke and could not walk very well! His children were coming to visit him for Father’s Day, but he got sick a few days before and passed away. Another man accepted the Lord over thirty years ago. He worked in a lot on our new church plants all over the area. He loves the Lord but he got very sick with cirrhosis of the liver due to medicines that he had taken. He passed away on the 27th of June.”USA MILITARY, GERMANY, Joseph and Laura Passaro—They write, “As I mentioned in our last prayer letter, an American lady is coming to church faithfully, and we praise the Lord. Also, a new military couple who just arrived a few months back has been coming. With that news, we also lost two of our faithful ladies. They both have Permanent Change of Station back in the States. Both were faithful servants for our church. They will be sorely missed, but we thank the Lord for their friendships.USA MINISTRIES, NORTH CAROLINA, HENDERSONVILLE, Ed and Barbara O’Brien—They share the following: “We celebrated “Mother’s Day in May and then “Father’s Day” in June with a good turnout for both special services.CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, NAGUA. Jeffri and Pamela Polanco—They give the following report: “We hosted a baseball clinic as an evangelistic event in Nagua, which was a tremendous success! With the help of a fellow missionary and church from the States, we were able to put the event together. Over 100 boys attended, enjoying baseball and hearing the Gospel. The Lord answered prayers by keeping the rain away. The message of Christ was powerfully shared leading to 17 professions of faith. The day concluded with the boys receiving baseball gear, for which they expressed heartfelt gratitude. The event was fruitful, opening doors for us to continue ministering to those boys!EAST AFRICA, KENYA, KISUMU, Luke and Tonya Shelby—They share the following report: “In June, we celebrated the dedication service for the new property of Calvary Baptist Church in Uwasi. It was a joyous occasion with an attendance of 108. The land purchase and the title transfer are not complete and we have used over $8,000 for initial renovations and moving expenses. The church is now settled in their new location and filled with excitement for the future! Progress on this church building is moving forward steadily. We had laid the foundation, erected the metal frame structure with the roof, and are now preparing to raise the walls using bricks salvaged from previous buildings on the old property. Additionally, we are planning to install electricity on the property, a crucial step that will require approximately $600.WEST AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh—They share the following: “We have had a very productive month with our soul winning. There are at least six of us (not including my family) who go out every week to share the Gospel. Praise the Lord for the five people who trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior this month! Four of our teenagers witnessed to a young man a few weeks ago. They worked together and led him to the Lord. They were very proud that they were able to see the Lord work despite how nervous they were. I followed up with him and indeed, he understood the plan of salvation. I was also privileged to lead a mother and her son to the Lord just over a week ago. The story behind that was truly remarkable. They were both very doubtful that salvation did not include works, but I let the Bible speak, and God showed Himself true. Praise the Lord, once again, for all their salvations! Please pray for their spiritual growth.”
FAR NORTH, CANADA, NEW BRUNSWICK, Dan and Jennifer Post—They share the following with prayer needs: “Praise the Lord for opportunities that He gives! We were able to organize a barbecue picnic at our house to celebrate Canada Day on July 1. We invited many people as our outreach and had 40 people attend. We were excited to have two of our neighbors come! We have given them tracts and invited them to church in the past and were thankful that the Lord is working on their hearts.EUROPE, GERMANY, SALZ, Dan and Tricia Dubbe—They share the following report with prayer needs: “‘What must I do to be saved?’ A young mother asked me just after the preaching on Sunday a few weeks ago. My wife and I then shared with her how to come into the family of God. After praying, she then said that she would bring her husband to church with her. Two others also recently made professions of faith at the end of the Sunday service. The lady whose brother was first saved said she saw a change in his life and she wanted that also. I heard Author Paul Little say, ‘Keep your faith, but don’t keep it to yourself.’SOUTH AMERICA, PERU, CHICLAYO, Lee and Eva Johnson—They share the following with prayer needs: “We have a couple in our church who are new in the Lord. They are a young couple who have a four-year son. They have shared with me their desire to completely give themselves over to the Lord in obedience to stop living together out of wedlock and to get baptized, What joy filled my heart to receive such wonderful news. I am now working with them in these areas.SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, Dan and Debbie Board—They share the follow with prayer requests: “One of the most challenging aspects of serving in the ministry in this part of the world is seeing those whom you love and have influenced for Christ pay a real price for living out their faith in a society that often despises biblical Christianity. This past Sunday we rejoiced to see 15 new believers follow the Lord in Believer’s Baptism. One lady was in her late 60s before she head a clear presentation of the Gospel. We were blessed along with a team from the church to have the opportunity to help explain the Gospel to her, help her with questions, and then to see her born again a couple of week ago. He adult children were thrilled to see here baptized. FAR EAST, JAPAN, OKINAWA, Dan and Terri Gardner—They share the following: “On July 13 we went to help the Shinko Baptist Church with their Kids’ Summer Festival that we had every year when we were in charge. We were excited to have 95 people in attendance including kids, adults, and the workers. Several kids raised their hands for salvation, believing in Jesus Christ to be their Savior. Pray that these kids would follow up and continue to come to Sunday school and church.SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN, Mark and Katie Gerosin—They share the following: “We have prayed for years for the Lord to open the door for us to be able to connect with institutions training young people for the ministry. In May, we were privileged to host a group of college students from West Coast Baptist College in California. They came down and we packed in as much as possible into their 8-day trip. We are excited because God touched the hearts of a few students and they expressed interest in coming back for an extended visit. Pray God calls more laborers!CENTRAL AMERICA, HONDURAS, Matt and Dallita Goins — They share the following report: “So far this month Matt has had the privilege of baptizing 12. It is always encouraging to see the public profession of faith in Christ after someone is saved. The Great Commission focuses on discipleship among all nations, which includes baptism of new believers and bringing them into the community of faith in the local church to continue the maturation process of growing into the image of Jesus Christ through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
In the first week of June, we had the privilege of serving our community through medicine with a group that came alongside our church from Medical Missions Outreach. The team of 48 from the US partnered with 70 volunteers from our church in a four-day free medical clinic with service in the areas of general medicine, optical, physical therapy, and soul care. . . . Praise the Lord we were able to see 1, 886 patients and that 63 made professions of faith!”
USA MILITARY, SPAIN, ROTA, Michael and DeAnna Staley — They share the following with prayer needs: “At the end of May, the USS Arleigh-Burke returned to port. The ship’s patrol is generally four months long; however, their patrol was extended for an extra two months for various reasons. We are glad to have the ship back (and they are glad to be back!) because several men and women from that ship attend our church. We used to have even more, but three single men move back to the States during the last patrol. Please pray for them to find good churches near their new duty stations.FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, TAHANAN VILLAGE PARANAQUE, John Mark and Kristin Catalan — They share the following with prayer needs: “We had our Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebrations at our church, and we took this opportunity to invite mothers and fathers in our community. We had a total of 19 mothers and 23 fathers present. Sixteen of them were first time visitors and most of them are Catholics. We shared the Gospel with them. Please pray for the salvation of these visitors and for us as we follow up with them.SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Chris and Becca Reed — They share the following with several prayer needs: “Last month we requested prayer for a new Christian. She is a teen and her parents were not allowing her to attend church. This month, her parents were not allowing her to come to services, but they are allowing her to come at other times and study the Bible. Please continue to pray for her.BIMI ARM PERSONNEL, Malcolm and Jan Gregory — They share the following with prayer needs: 
SOUTH AMERICA, ECUADOR & PERU, Raymond and Anita Bradley — They write the following: “When we started the deaf church last year, the deaf people we invited to attend had almost no understanding of the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. The ones who had been attending more often, a small group, have received the Lord and are starting to slowly grow in the Lord. The ones who are in school are learning even more as they take time to study their vocabulary words, etc. There is a long road ahead still!WEST AFRICA, GHANA, TEMA, Frederick and Antoinette Kearney — They share the following: “We started off the Easter season with the baptism of two on that Sunday! On the following Sunday, two accepted the Lord as their personal Savior. Frederick visited a Muslim man and led him to the Lord and he followed up with a visit with another who is so confused about the Truth. Please pray for these men to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord.EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, SOROTI, Matt and Savannah Gardner — They share the following: “We have had seven saved at our main church in Soroti. I would like to share with you one of their testimonies. A man works in our orphanage as chef. I visited him at his home and found out that he was an unsaved Catholic. I shared the Gospel with him, but you could see from his face that the idea of salvation without works was very strange to him. Over the next five weeks, I met with him several times to answer any questions and give him more Scriptures. He met with me after studying all the verses I gave him and said, ‘Pastor Matthew, the Bible says that you can only go to Heaven through faith in Jesus. I want to do that!’ That night he bowed his head and accepted Christ.WESTERN EUROPE, SPAIN, MADRID, Julio and Andrea Velasquez — They share the following: “Three Sundays ago, we had our first baptism in our new church building. Ever since we started our church, we have had to go to a Baptist church in another city in order to baptize, but now we have acquired a portable baptistery that we can use in our own church building. For this first baptism, we baptized three ladies and two children. It was such a blessing to hear their testimonies of how Christ has saved them for His glory. 
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, TAUBATE, Dan and Gerri Johnson — They share the following report: “May 17 marked 50 years since we first set foot in Brazil as missionaries with a two-year-old in tow and seven weeks from the birth of our second child. We added two more to the family during our first term and our last addition came in our second term. We are so thankful for the children the Lord has given us and for the opportunity to raise them in Brazil. CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Santo Domingo, Jeffri and Pamela Polanco. — They write, “We are excited to share an update on the ministry in Mata Bonita. Despite several storms in May that impacted our services, our commitment remains strong. Our services, held in an open field, were interrupted twice due to heavy rains. Nevertheless, we continue to gather, though some are hesitant to attend in unfavorable weather. We are actively seeking a suitable indoor space to hold our services. Please join us in prayer for Mata Bonita and its people as we aim to reach as many as possible with the message of Christ. We trust that the Lord might continue to open doors for this ministry.
Our Mother’s Day event was a tremendous success with a fantastic turnout. We welcomed four new mothers, including two from Mata Bonita and saw a father join his family in church for the first time. In total, we had nine first-time visitors and 15 returning visitors. The church’s children performed their very first special and they did an incredible job! The Word of God was preached, and we are excited about those who attended, praying that the Lord works in their hearts for salvation.”
FAR NORTH, CANADA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, BURNABY, Russell and Lisa Mackay — They report the following: “God has blessed us here this spring! We had nine first-time visitors in our Easter service and our people sacrificed to give $56,207 to our Easter building offering. They also pledged to give $192,762 over the next three years. Wow! That is a lot of money for our church people to give. It is a very small portion of the 7.5 million that we need, but we know that God will provide. Please continue to pray for us as we prepare to launch a fundraising campaign to churches in Canada and the United States.USA MINISTRIES, NEW MEXICO, SHEEPSPRINGS, John and April McDaniel — They share the following: “We are off to a good start with our summer ministry already! We spent a week at Apache Creek Deaf and Youth Ranch to preach for their work camp. We will be returning at the end of July for Native Camp with some children and youth from our church. Pray that we will have a good turn out! We have Vacation Bible School planned for the Fourth of July week with Desert Gateway Baptist Church from Gilbert, Arizona, coming out to help us. We are looking forward to it!SOUTHEAST ASIA, NEW ZEALAND, DUNEDIN, Bob and Diana Rutta — They share the following: “One of the sweetest blessings that we have is to lead someone to the Lord and then watch as they follow the Lord in believer’s baptism. We have known one lady for several years, and from time to time, she has come to church. However, she is from a Catholic background and it was difficult for her to grasp what we meant when we talked about trusting Christ as our Savior and receiving eternal life. On the Sundays I knew she would attend, I would try to present the Gospel as simply as I could, but she didn’t understand. Recently, Bob had the opportunity to sit down with her and talk. He asked if he could present the Gospel and she said that had been on her heart recently and that she really wanted to understand. Bob slowly presented the Gospel and he could see that she wanted to have Christ as her Savior. In praying to receive Christ, she also prayed to renounce the Catholic religion. Bob talked with her for a while about what this all meant and her need to faithfully attend church and grow. Then the subject of baptism came up and they discussed the importance of obeying the Lord. She asked if she could do that and he showed her the story of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. Everyone at church has noticed the difference in her attitude and the big smile on her face. No matter how many times we see people make these decisions, it never grows old.”
USA MINISTRIES, MONTANA, KALISPELL, David and Dee Dee Sterling — They share the following: “Services are going well here in the West Valley and we have had 14 different visitors since we began holding meetings. As we continue reaching out to those of our community, please pray with us that the Lord would soften the hearts of the lost souls to whom we have been able to witness. We are thankful to have our oldest son Ryan working with us now in our church planting ministries. Ryan has already been a blessing to us here as, due to our illness, he was called on to preach and lead the services his first Sunday with us. We praise the Lord he was able to find good work just days after his arrival.”
SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, SANTIAGO, Clifton and Tiffany Booth — They share the following: “For months, we had been praying. As the time drew near, we handed out over 50,000 invitations. Then, on Sunday morning, April 18, 2024, we had the inauguration of our new building. It was literally standing room only as we ran out of chairs. God gave us nearly 90 people including 33 first-time visitors. At the conclusion of the service, several people made professions of faith in the Lord Jesus. We also realized that some people came just out of curiosity, but in the weeks since, many of the visitors have continued to attend. Please pray for us as we continue to minister to these people and that God would continue to bring others to Himself.SOUTH AMERICA, ARGENTINA, SAN MIGUEL de TUCUMÁN, Larry and Alma Owens — They share the following with prayer needs: “Praise the Lord! I was able to teach in the Bible college this month. I taught for two weeks and my topic was Discipline of the Christian Life. We are having a great year in the Bible college in that there is a very good spirit among the students and a great desire to serve the Lord.
We also had a tremendous missions conference. There were three nights with preaching on missions. We are trying to raise support for our missionaries because inflation has reduced the buying power of the peso. We need to almost double their support!
We are also able to begin a new church plant in Benjamín Aráos. There were 150 people in the first service. Many are getting saved and wanting a church in the area. It is a town with about 4,000 people without a church. Please pray that this church will grow and be strongly established.
One more prayer request: the president of Argentina has started an austerity program for the whole country. Please pray for the people of this area, as some have no money for food. A person came to one of our churches and asked for tea to drink because he had nothing to eat. Our church finances have been really affected as well. Nonetheless, the church is really growing and people are coming in like never before.”
WESTERN EUROPE, BELGIUM, Brent and Jen Hoffman — They share the following: “Later on this year the Olympics are going to be held in Paris, which is just a few hours from us. Some of the preliminary rounds for handball and basketball are going to be held in Lille, France, which is less than an hour from the church. I have been slowly stockpiling tracts to go over there and pass out. This month we received several thousand tracts so we are getting excited to go reach people for Jesus Christ. I have been going through a series on Sunday nights from the parables and how we can learn from the way Jesus interacted with others so we can best witness to the lost. I am trying to get all the new people involved with passing out tracts, and we are going to do the same thing we did last year in setting goals on how many tracts we can pass out as a church. We will not count the Olympics tracts though. I want them to focus on not just reaching strangers but neighbors and coworkers as well.”
CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, SANTO DOMINGO, Jeffri and Pamela Polanco — They share the following: On April 14 we began our first Bible Study in the town of Manta Bonita, and both the Nagua church members and the local folks were excited about it. Some of the Nagua members happily volunteered, excited about a new project. Right now, we are having our meetings in the open space so anyone passing by can join, which has brought in more visitors. It is an answer to prayer that two individuals chose to follow Christ during these services, which motivated us to keep sharing the Good News in this area that desperately needs it! We are looking forward to seeing more growth and spiritual progress in the future.SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, Dave and Debbie Board — They share the following: “One young woman (mentioned in last month’s letter) and her twin sister have relocated to a rental unit in close proximity to our church in order to escape abuse at the hand of their father. Though they are 18 years old, they do not have the legal right to be on their own and are currently working through the emancipation process. Join us in praying for these two young ladies to grow in their faith.FAR NORTH, GREENLAND, Gage and Aleah Gilbert — They share the following report: “Some might remember that we met a young Dane last summer who was working as a local plumber and electrician. The Lord brought him to our house one day to do some work. Gage gave him the Gospel, and he was very open to it. It was the first time that he had ever heard that Jesus was God, and he had many questions. He has since moved back to Denmark, but we have kept in touch through texting. Last week he messages ‘God Paske’ which means ‘Happy Easter.’ Gage used this opportunity to share the Gospel yet again and encouraged the young Dane to read John 18-20. He said that he would. Please pray with us that this young man will fully understand and then ultimately accept the free gift of salvation that the Lord offers.CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, SAN PABLO, Jeremy and Michelle Blanz — They share the following report with prayer needs: “We continue to strengthen the church in San Pablo. Michelle has been teaching and coordinating the children’s ministry. We now have a solid rotation of teachers for the children’s class and also on Tuesday nights. On Saturday mornings, Jeremy has been preaching through Genesis. On Tuesday nights he has been teaching doctrines. We have also continued our weekly evangelism. This last month was a difficult month for several church people. We had helped some with food and others we have met with to provide counseling and a path going forward. We have also established a group within the church to help create good financial processes and accountability. Thankfully, we have seen slow and steady growth and we are now getting close to being full on Sunday mornings. God is so good!SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, Peter and Elizabeth Putney — They share the following with prayer needs: “In our last prayer letter, we asked you to pray for the salvation of a teenager in our church. He first came to our church during VBS and has been riding our church bus since last June. Despite hearing the Gospel many times, he had not made a decision to trust Christ as Savior. The Lord put it on my heart to mention him specifically in our last prayer letter and within a few weeks, I received a text message that he had decided to get saved! This is just another reminder of the tremendous power of prayer, and I want to thank each of you that prayed for this young man by name after reading our last prayer letter.
FAR EAST, JAPAN, HIROSAKI, James and Beka Scott — They share the following report: “It has been a very enjoyable time over the past few months as we have been ramping up for the opening service of Hirosaki Baptist Church. In March, a few men were able to come to our church to help with some of the renovations that were needed on the inside of the building. We were able to get some new flooring, wallpaper, and some painting done. We were also able to get a church sign hung outside. Soon after we were able to get the chairs, pulpit, and some of the other needed things to go in the building. We are praying that every seat will one day be filled.USA MILITARY, JAPAN, TOKYO, FUSSA, Danny and Haruna McKttrick — They share the following: “In early March, we held a Spring Revival with BIMI missionary Brother Ed Navato. He was able to be with us for a three-day meeting and we had a wonderful time. The meeting was well attended and kicked off a series of souls being won to Christ. That Sunday morning, Brother Navato was able to lead a first-time visitor to Christ (she and her husband left the country of Japan the next day). That same evening my wife was able to lead a young USAF lady to Christ. That following Sunday I was able to lead a young man to Christ! That following Wednesday evening Haran was able to lead an 11 year-old boy to Christ (his father was recently saved). Then one of the young airmen reached out to a friend and led her to Christ. All those souls followed the LORD in believer’s baptism on Resurrection Sunday! What a tremendous blessing and powerful services! We had a Potluck Meal Breakfast Theme after the morning services. By the end of the day, we were worn out but it was a good worn out!”
EUROPE, SPAIN, JAÉN, Michael and Jen Helton — They give the following report with prayer needs: “March and April were incredible months for our family and for Iglesia Bautista de la Gracia. The English Bible Study continued to grow. The questions that the university students asked have been challenging and exciting. They are open to the Gospel and to learning about the Word of God. Additionally, their excitement fed into the regular Bible Study (in Spanish). It also grew in March.CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, BARBADOS, ST. PHILIP, Robert and Rhoda Smith — They share the following with prayer needs: “A marvelous shouting blessing! Our first ‘at the church’ baptism! We have always baptized at the ocean, but that also meant that most of the church would never see the baptisms. God provided a baptistery through some dear folks from Illinois who bought the water trough and shipped it to us. They filled it with tracts, Bibles and goodies! So Easter Sunday was our first ‘at the church’ baptism. Praise the Lord! We are looking forward to many, many more.
EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, MASAKA, Alisha Stensaas & Sharon Arinaitwe — They share the following report: “We took a trip to one of the Kalangala Islands. . . . We are planning to add this to our places where we do training. I am excited about this! We had visited this area once before and their children have been on my heart since.USA MINISTRIES, NEW YORK, THE BRONX, Alan and Sabrina Davis — They share the following report: “Recently, Sabrina had a ladies fellowship over at our apartment in the Bronx, NYC. They had a Bible Study, sang hymns, and had lunch. Afterwards, they went out giving out tracts and fliers. In fact, as a result of the outreach one lady came to church the next day. Even though the new lady did not want anyone visiting her, at least she came.FAR NORTH, CANADA, TORONTO, ETOBICOKE, Cory and April McTague — They share the following report: “Since the beginning of Sparrow Baptist Church, we have been meeting in Swansea Town Hall, which is similar to a Community Centre, as an hourly rental. They have been amazingly helpful and encouraging along the way! They have been welcoming and accommodating, which is very uncommon here in public places for churches, but we still had very limited space for a growing church. This has led us to pray for an office space/counseling center. I know you have prayed with us over this issue for quite some time. On April 1, the Lord mightily answered this prayer! We were able to secure a 670 sq. foot office space. They came down significantly on the rent, which allowed us to make this commitment. We now hold Bible Studies and I have an office in this building! Our Sunday services remain at the community center. This is a great situation that allows us a fully committed space for ½ the price of renting a space large enough to fit our needs. It is at a great location, walking distance from our Sunday meeting space.EAST AFRICA, KENYA, KISUMU, Luke and Tonya Shelby — They share the following with prayer needs: “During our recent travels, we have had the privilege to witness 41 souls saved in our new outreaches, including a powerful testimony from one man. We had witnessed to him through the years because one by one, his son, nephews, brother, and others have come to Christ over the past 10+ years. But until recently he was a Bishop in an African cultural religion. When he was diagnosed with a malignant tumor already advanced to Stage 4 and was hospitalized for three weeks. I visited him on Friday before going down into the Maasai villages and on the Wednesday afterwards. On that Wednesday, April 14 he prayed to ask Christ into his heart! After he prayed, he pulled me close and told me to tell his children that they should follow the truth found in God’s Word that is preached by us and that we must do everything that we can to get them into church. He passed away the next night. Praise the Lord for God working in his heart! His salvation touched many lives, leading to eight more receiving Christ during his hospitalization and funeral. Please pray for the rest of the family.”FAR EAST, TAIWAN, TAIPEI CITY, Jon and April Flowers — They share the following: “In our last letter, we asked you to pray for two individuals. Not long after we started a Bible Study with them, one trusted Christ as her Savior. Please continue to pray for the other’s salvation. Thank you for praying for these folks.
God blessed us with a wonderful Easter Sunday! We had many first-time visitors and quite a few who have been to church before but have never been saved returned for this service. We thank God for His blessing on this event.
I was praying that God would give me the opportunity during our Easter Sunday service to take someone, one-on-one, through the Gospel, but it did not happen. Little did I know that God had other plans. That night when we were getting ready for bed, our 6-year-old daughter said to me, ‘I have been trying to be nice to my 4-year-old brother (our youngest) so I can go to heaven.’ I responded to her with ‘Being nice to him will not get you to heaven.’ I then shared the Gospel with her, we knelt by the bed, and she prayed and asked God to save her. We want to thank God for our daughter and for her faith in Jesus. April and I have prayed for the salvation of our children. Thank you for praying for our family. . . . May we be faithful until His return.”
SOUTH AMERICA, VENEZUELA, BARQUISIMETO, LARA, Carlos and Susan Arce — They share the following: “Praise the Lord! This last Sunday we had 1,070 people in our church. After preaching, eight people received Christ as their Savior and many others made dedication decisions. God is good! By the Lord’s mercy, He has allowed us to start more than 70 churches and they are growing. But there are still many cities and towns without a church. It is our desire to reach all of these places with God’s Word. We also have plans to start more churches in other areas of the country. Pray with us for this desire that God has put in our hearts! WEST AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh — They write, “Two weeks ago, I had an opportunity to speak with a man who was hard at work, packing firewood but made time for me to share the Gospel with him. After spending a considerable amount of time in the Word and answering many questions, he bowed his head and received Christ as his personal Savior. Please pray for his spiritual growth as we continue to visit with him.CENTRAL AMERICA, EL SALVADOR, SANTA ANA, Cesar and Christine Cerna — They share the following: “By God’s grace, we continue to take the Gospel to different places within our city. At one boys’ basketball practice, we have been able to witness to dozens of people over the past few months. There is a young taxi driver whom I have had the pleasure of witnessing to several times already. Also, with Christine we continue to knock on doors around the neighborhood. Thankfully, there are always people who will at least listen to the Gospel message. There are people that know us by name around the neighborhood just because we have knocked on their door and witnessed to them. Please pray that in the end many will come to know our Savior by name.”
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, JUNDIAI, Tim and Lidia Barrett — They share the following with prayer needs: “Every month here is very busy with outreach ministries, Bible clubs, a bridal shower for our soon to be daughter-in-law, our BIMI Field Conference, a youth retreat, etc. Our choir presented an Easter Cantata. We had several visitors along with one who showed a desire to come to Christ. Please pray the Holy Spirit will continue to work in their lives and that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ will shine in their hearts” (2 Corinthians 4:4).SOUTHEAST ASIA, NEW ZEALAND, Brent and Jenny Hoffman — They share the following report: “The last quarter of 2023 was perhaps the busiest we have been. We letterboxed quite a few homes and prayed we would see visitors come to our Christmas Eve service. Unfortunately, much of our efforts did not result in visitors attending. A man told me recently that he will letterbox and do door-to-door visiting, but the Lord brings in visitors from places that he never went. The point is, we keep doing the work and let the Lord provide the fruit. He will provide from outside the area that we are active. It is His work, and we want to do it His way.USA MINISTRIES, NEW YORK, THE BRONX, Alan and Sabrina Davis — They share the following report: “One day an individual who was raised a Jehovah’s Witness, told me he was going to come to church. And yes, a few months ago he did show up for a Sunday service here in the concrete jungle. He did come for several services and in one of them he prayed the sinners’ prayer. Even though his mother is still a Jehovah’s Witness, he is now following another path.EAST AFRICA, KENYA, KISUMU, Luke and Tonya Shelby — They write the following: “Here are some specific prayer requests and updates from our ministry for 2024:SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, Dan and Debbie Board — They share the following report and prayer needs: “This past month we were blessed to see 16 folks follow the Lord in Believer’s Baptism. One is a local businessman who came to Christ through the testimony of a faithful businessman directly across the street from him here in our village. Another served in a Buddhist temple for nearly three decades. He was recently saved through door-to-door soul winning and follow-up. Another lady came to saving faith after resisting the Gospel for many years. Many of us have witnessed to her in the past 13 years.WESTERN EUROPE, IRELAND, DUBLIN, Dan and Elizabeth Canavan — They share the following with prayer needs: “God has deeply impressed on our hearts that He wants a Gospel-preaching church to bring light to this dark corner of the world. The fact that the church is alive, winning souls, and growing in 2024 is a testament of God’s call, your faithfulness, and His abundant, longsuffering goodness. It is truly an immense privilege to fulfill God’s will and partner with you in this glorious work!CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, BARBADOS, ST. PHILIP, Robert and Rhoda Smith — They share the following report: “I went to the hospital to pray with a patient who is related to a lady in our church. He listened to me as I told him the wonderful Gospel story. He already knew and believed in who Christ is and what He had done for us, but he had never asked Christ for salvation for himself. As he lay on his bed, he bowed his head and quietly asked Christ for salvation. We had a wonderful visit together. Please pray for his healing and spiritual growth.USA MINISTRIES, NORTH CAROLINA, HENDERSONVILLE, Ed and Barbara O’Brien — They share the following report: “We continue to see souls saved here in North Carolina. We are excited to have a good group of 16 people who are out with us as we go door knocking and soul winning each Saturday. We have also had two baptized on different Sundays, one who is 17 and another who is 26.FAR NORTH, CANADA, ONTARIO, ETOBICOKE, Cory and April McTague — They share the following report and prayer needs: “Pastor Wall of FaithWay Baptist Church of Ajax, Ontario, was our guest speaker at our annual Tropical Sunday. It is an event to which everyone looks forward. As the event set up began, college students from my Bible college class and church members decked out in tropical décor. We set up 54 chairs and loaded tables with food. As some who minister in cultures that are not time sensitive will understand my uncertainty grew when we began services with about 15 people in the room. No one would imagine that before the day was over we would have had a record attendance of 51 and 6 first time visitors! This is a mile marker of attendance that I personally have been praying for 18 months. It was a wonderful day of fellowship and encouragement! Two of those visitors already returned.
Please be in prayer with us as we continue to pray about replacing our vehicle. We still need $5,000 for this project. Please continue to be in prayer for three for salvation, the two people we have in Leadership Discipleship training, and for the church acquiring a church office space. Please follow us on Facebook for updates and videos.”
SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, Mark and Katie Gerosin — They share the following: “A man approached me after the service on Sunday asking to talk in private. We met a few days later to get to know each other and I heard his story. I told him I could not let our time end without sharing the message of salvation with him. I thoroughly explained the Gospel and encouraged him to trust Jesus. Afterwards, he bowed to accept the Lord. Praise God for a new brother in Christ!
EUROPE, IRELAND, GALWAY, Andrew and Shawn Canavan — They share the following report with prayer needs: “The Lord sent two wonderful and much prayed for visitors to our church last month. Both are Filipino ladies who recently moved to Ireland. They work in the operating room of a hospital in Castlebar and surprised us when they said their travel time to our church was almost two hours each way. They are precious sisters in Christ who desire to be a part of a Bible-based Baptist church. Thank the Lord!CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, GRENADA, Joseph and Donna Childers — They write the following: “February was one of the more fruitful months in recent memory. One young man at the juvenile facility accepted Christ as Savior. That same Sunday, a visiting family came into our church to dedicate a baby boy to the Lord. They returned the next week, and Donna led the mother to the Lord! A week later, two men came to Christ during our soul-winning time. Joseph personally spoke to a man with a Rastafarian background. He grew up religious but had always been told that being good was enough to get into Heaven. He said he had never had a Bible nor has he read it. Since we still have some from the Grenada Bible Project, we were very happy to give him one, and he promised to read it. Joseph shared with him what God said about good deeds not being enough and right on the side of the road after about a half hour, he bowed his head and asked Christ to save him! Please pray that he would come to church and that we will have opportunities to further influence him and see him grow in Christ.EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, KAMPALA, James and Cheryl Pridgen — They share the following with prayer needs: “I am continually amazed at the goodness of our Lord. It has been a blessing to see people saved and baptized. The churches are doing well and one of our Bible college graduates started a new church. I also had the privilege of being a part of the ordination council for a pastor who is ministering three hours outside of Kampala near the Nile River.WEST AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh — They share the following: “I was honored to be able to do the baby naming ceremony and baby dedication service for a dear couple in our church. About three months after a child is born here in Ghana, the parents choose to name their child publicly at the church they attend. I did not know how big a deal these ceremonies are here, so I received some counsel from a pastor friend nearby. We held the ceremony on Sunday, February 25, during our main service. The couple had many friends and family members in attendance. It was a beautiful event. The service held our biggest attendance to date with 84 people in church that morning. Thank God for a smooth service and for parents who dedicate the lives of their children to the Lord.FAR EAST, JAPAN, HIROSAKI, James and Rebekah Scott — They share the following: “Recently, we got a sign put up outside of our church and those in the neighborhood have noticed. One man who was doing some work on the building for us asked a question, ‘Why Hirosaki? Hirosaki already has a lot of churches.’ I get that question a lot. When Japanese people think of churches, they do not know there are differences between a Baptist church, a Catholic church, a Mormon, etc. That is something I must explain. In reality, there are still only 10 churches in all of Hirosaki. Then they always ask, ‘Well, what is a Baptist?’ I have enjoyed being able to explain to them what I believe, and I am excited to get a Baptist church started in this city.WESTERN EUROPE, GERMANY, RHEIN, Walt and Thrasilla Hornung — They share the following: “We are so thankful that the Lord sent Mark and Naomi Byers, also BIMI missionaries, to us. The Lord did miracles for them. Within two days after they arrived, through our church people, they found a nice suitable inexpensive house without security deposit—this is unheard of in Germany, and someone gave them various furniture pieces. They are in language school. Mark will preach through an interpreter next Sunday and Naomi is playing the piano for the church services.USA MILITARY, SPAIN, ROTA, Michael and DeAnna Staley — They share the following: “Recently the government contractor we have mentioned in previous letters returned to Rota. When he is on ship working, he always takes tracts with him. During his couple of weeks here, he invited three to church. They attended a service while he was here, and then two came back the next week, even after he had left. This week they brought two other sailors with them. Please pray for the salvation of four. FAR NORTH, CANADA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, BURNABY, Russell and Lisa Mackay — They share the follow report: “Could you pray for God to do miracles and allow us to buy a building for the ministries here?! Please ask God to move in the hearts of our people and the hearts of people across North America to invest in eternity by investing in a building here to further the Gospel here and around the world. In November, we went to 50 area churches of every kind to attempt to rent space, but we were unable to find any church with a large enough building they were willing to rent to us. God has shown us clearly that it is time for us to buy a building. God has given us many ‘greater works’ that He wants us to do, but we need a building of our own. We are still able to meet in the office space; we are at maximum capacity most Sunday mornings. We have aggressively begun to search for property and estimate that we will need $10 million Canadian or $7.5 million US because our city is the most expensive city in Canada to buy real estate. We know that God is able! We began in January to encourage and challenge our people to give a sacrificial offering on March 31. Resurrection Sunday! Please pray for God to give us His wisdom as we raise funds from churches across North America. God has strategically placed us in one of the most international cities in the world and has given us the opportunity to share the Gospel with people from all over the world as they immigrate to our city! Our church is truly an international church, and we know that God wants us to reach people with the Gospel from all corners of the world.”
FAR EAST, JAPAN, AOMORI, Steve and Kimiyo Canter — They share the following: “Our theme for 2024 is following the Lord. Our hope and prayer is to encourage every life our church touches to follow the Lord. Whether to follow the Him in salvation, baptism, or even fishing for men, our belief is that if everyone follows the Lord, they will grow spiritually and the church will grow as a result. Please pray with us for lives to follow the Lord.CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, QUERÉTARO, Tim and Brittany Pontius — They write the following: “Brittany and I both continued learning Spanish with our teachers and we also continued to work to apply our Spanish in the community. USA MINISTRIES, TEXAS, COMMERCE, James and Andrea Mansfield — They share the following: “Right after returning from Arizona, we had a 50s themed Valentines dinner. Our boys really got into the ‘look’! We had 45 in attendance and were grateful for those who decorated while we were away.
CENTRAL EUROPE, CROATIA, Ron and Rachel Winkler — They share the following: “Our home church’s theme for 2024 is FORWARD! In Exodus 14:15, Moses was instructed to have the children of Israel go forward in the face on an impossible situation. The Lord promised to fight for them! We had unofficially adopted this theme for our family and ministry as well. Discouragement can rear its ugly head when Satan is fighting and things do not progress the way we hoped it would. We are determined to continue forward sowing the seed of the Gospel and preaching the truth of God’s Word. We will be faithful and leave the results to the Lord!SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, SANTIAGO, Clifton and Tiffany Booth — They share the follow report: “We had our first service in the new building on December 3. Almost every chair was filled!! The building is not yet complete but it is good enough to use for services. We have scheduled the inauguration for April 28. We will be passing out 25,000 invitations throughout the community. Pray that we will see much fruit! SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Jeff Gross — He shares the following report with prayer needs: “A member’s older sister came to visit us for the new year along with her husband and four-year-old son. His sister and her husband were not saved. We have had his sister on our prayer list for several years. I am very pleased to report that she received Jesus Christ as her Savior while she was with us! She repented of her sins and called on the name of the Lord for salvation. Three days later, her husband repented of his sins and received Christ as his Savior as well. An interesting side note—after the husband was saved, he said that he did not want to come and visit us and had much turmoil of heart. When his wife was saved, he admitted that he was very angry with everyone. However, after accepting Jesus as Savior, he said a great weight was lifted off his heart. He had been in a great spiritual battle for months.CARIBBEAN, DOMINCAN REPUBLIC, NAGUA, Jeffri and Pamela Polanco — They share the following with prayer requests: “One of the highlights of the month is that we gained access to two schools (one private and one pubic). We attempted to reach other schools but were unable to do so at the time. We preached in 13 different classrooms in these schools, targeting students ages 12–18. Please pray for us. We now have an open door in both schools, and I continue to visit them. Recently, I was asked to teach about Creation and Evolution. I believe this open door presents an incredible opportunity for our ministry. SOUTH AMERICA, BOLIVIA, MAGDALENA, Ernesto and Amanda Salvatierra — They share the following report with prayer needs: “Four weeks ago, we started a Bible Study in our home with four adults and two children of which all of the adults put their faith in Christ for salvation. As of right now, our Bible Study has grown to six adults and two children, Please pray that the Lord will continue to add more people to this Bible Study.
Amanda has been taking Spanish classes every day and she has come a long way to the point that she is explaining some board games to some people that come to hang out in our home. Esther has just started first grade and she is so excited about that. Please pray for Amanda as she homeschools her.
Our plan is to continue to grow our Bible Study as we look forward to the Grand Opening, which will be the first Sunday in June. We are planning with great anticipation for that day. It is hard to find an empty building that can be used for the church, and we have been looking for a place that we could rent or possibly buy for the church. Please pray that the Lord will lead us to the right place.”
WEST AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh — They share the following report: “A few months back we celebrated our first anniversary as a church. It was amazing to reflect on the year, seeing how far God has brought the church in so little time. We had 72 people in attendance for the morning service. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to preach a message of hope and then a time of food and fellowship following the service! We also had an early service in the afternoon, moving our evening service time up. After the service, we were able to take 25 servings of leftovers to our local orphanage. Please pray that the Lord provides an opportunity to preach there in the near future. We thank you for your prayers concerning our big day.USA MINISTRIES, Montana, Kalispell, David and Dee Dee Sterling — They share the following with prayer needs: “Thanks to all of you who have joined us in prayer regarding a meeting place for the new work here in Montana. Three weeks ago, we had agreed with the owner of a modular building to rent his building, starting mid-January. Two weeks ago, when checking on when we could start moving things in, he said it would not be ready for at least another month, and that we would have to go through an application and interview process. We realized that this door was closing and we continued our search. Just two days ago before we sent this prayer letter out, we were finally able to secure a meeting room to hold our services. It is not large, but it will suit our immediate needs until we can find something farther west of town. The search has been long and hard. Please continue to pray for us to ultimately find a more suitable meeting place that will meet our future needs.CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, SAN PABLO, Jeremy and Michelle Blanz — They share the following: “We continue to preach the Gospel throughout the San Pablo and Heredia area. In recent weeks, we have had between 6–8 people sharing the Gospel in both door-to-door visitation and public park evangelism. Last week, while we were witnessing in the park, two individuals professed their faith in Christ for salvation. On Sundays, Jeremy has been preaching from the book of Joshua. . . . Michelle and another lady have been teaching the kids class. FAR EAST, TAIWAN, TAIPEI CITY, Jon and April Flowers — They share the following: “We thank God for a great start in 2024. Please pray for a lady and her boyfriend who started coming to church and asked about being baptized. We always enjoy these questions. Anytime we are asked about this, we immediately schedule a Bible Study. So needless to say, we have just started a Bible Study with them. Please pray for their salvation. We looked forward to seeing God work in their lives.
USA MILITARY, GERMANY, BEILINGEN, Steve and Debbie Kissling — They share the following report: “This prayer letter was written January 4 early in the morning from Beilingen, Germany. Our first Sunday at Eifel Baptist Church was January 7. The church family welcomed us and the service was well attended. We enjoyed a pitch-in lunch with an afternoon service. We are staying in the church apartment in the town of Beilingen. The church has been here for many years and has a great ministry to Air Force families and people from different countries that attend our services. The church is close to the Spangdahlem Air Force Base. It is a large base built in 1953. SOUTH AMERICA, LIMA, Carolyn Pace — She shares the following: “Since it is summer, we are also busy with summertime activities—children and youth camps, and even a ladies camp. I was invited to share the main message each evening this past week. There were 125 ladies who came from churches all over Peru. Since it was camp, one of the competitions was verse memorization. The winner quoted 60 verses, second place, 47, and third place over 30! I was convicted that it had been too long since I spent time memorizing God’s Word. I made a commitment to start again.SOUTH AMERICA, ARGENTINA, SAN MIGUEL de TUCUMAN, Larry and Alma Owens — They share the following: “We went out soul-winning today house to house. I have not been able to go out because of my health; however, we won two souls to Christ. One who accepted Christ says she is coming to church. Her face was disfigured, apparently something had happened in her life that caused this. Another also accepted Christ. He owns a sandwich stand and is supposed to come to the midweek service. SOUTHEAST ASIA, NEW ZEALAND, DUNEDIN, Bob and Diana Rutta — They write the following with prayer requests: “We have reached new highs in attendance at our church over the last few months. Our building has a maximum capacity of about 80 in the auditorium with chairs packed in tightly. We have had a few Sundays recently where we have only have had ten empty seats in the whole room! We are not seeing that every Sunday, but it is a beautiful thing to look out and see a full room as I preach. It took us many years of struggling to build a foundation and get here. We are having discussions of what our next step will be if we keep growing. We can open a bi-fold door into an adjoining room and add another 10–15 seats, which can be set toward the pulpit. That will help for a while. I honestly feel humbled.WESTERN EUROPE, GERMANY, SALZ, Dan and Tricia Dubbe —They share the following: To heal the broken hearted — Our church is sending and funding a team of counselors to be trained at a nearby school that trains Christian counselors to help the believers move past their wounds and disappointments to become warriors for the Lord. To preach deliverance to the captives — The discipleship program ‘Freedom in Christ’ is being taught after the Sunday morning service. We are encouraged because both young and old are present and wanting to go forward for the Lord. The devil has many believers in bondage long enough and we are declaring war! Jesus can set us free indeed! To preach the acceptable year of the Lord — This year we are planning several evangelistic training seminars and outreaches into our town and surrounding area here. We want to reach more this year than ever before. Germany needs an awakening before it is too late!”
EAST AFRICA, KENYA, KISUMU, Luke and Tonya Shelby —They share the following prayer needs: “Here are some specific prayer requests as we begin on the next phase of our work in Kenya:CENTRAL AMERICA, PANAMA, BALBOA, ANCON, Franklin and Brenda Booth — They write the following: “The Iglesias Bautista La Victoria celebrated its 22nd Anniversary with good Bible preaching from my brother-in-law (who was with us in the work’s initial years) and good food and fellowship! We managed to get a church picture at the end, although some had already gone home. Brenda was also able to repeat a photo with some of the teenagers now that were children then. What a blessing!FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, Layne and Nelia Jones —They share the following report with prayer needs: “We are now helping the graduate on San Vincent Island to build a building. The cost of a new church building is around $1,000 with a room at the back for the pastor. Many of our pastors are still single. We now have five couples, counting one a week for 30 minutes.CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, MEXICO CITY, E. Josue and Rebekah Ortiz —They share the following report: “The highlight of our ministry is not about numbers, growth, or success. The highest of any ministry is the expansion of His church on earth—that is what it is all about. His name is famous, not ours.SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN, Mark and Katie Gerosin — They share the following with prayer needs: “Our Bible institute is a key tool that we use not only to train future leaders for the harvest and send them out but also to develop those who stay at home. Our last class this year was also the largest with 18 students enrolled. This is a special blessing because the subject of the class was evangelism because this city is bustling with people who need Christ. What a joy to teach this group how to biblically share their faith! May God help us to raise up a new generation of soul-winners.
What started as a discipleship meeting with some young men has borne fruit. One of them, an 18-year-old, has turned into one of our newest leaders. He now helps with the cleaning, evangelizing, teaching in junior church, and leading of our singing. He recently went on a hospital visit with his mom and led an older man dying of pancreatic cancer to Jesus. Pray that God continues working in his life.
PRAISE
• 17 saved
• Approval of BBN Radio
PRAYER REQUESTS
• More souls to be saved and baptized
• Old church property to sell
• Funds for new building/lot to purchase (Need approximately $85,000)
• Spiritual and physical health
• New church plant to grow
NORTH AMERICA, GREENLAND, ILULISSAT, Gage and Aleah Gilbert — They share the following with prayer requests: “It has been a blessing serving alongside the Shells in ministry here. A recently restarted ministry is the prison outreach. Every other Thursday, Gage and Chris Shull meet with the prisoners. Gage brings his violin, and they sing hymns with the inmates and play games. Brother Shull then brings a message from the Bible in Greenlandic. They have only gone a few times now, but already the men are so happy when they come, and they look forward to their next visit. They have averaged eight men joining them each time and even had a prison guard joining them a few times as well. The prison here in Ilulissat is actually one of the main prisons for this region of the country, as many of the small villages do not have one of their own. Many of these men, once they have served their time, will end up going back to their own towns or villages. Because of this fact, we might not ever see or know of the fruit that comes from this ministry, but we are excited to be able to plant and water the seeds of the Gospel in the hearts of these men.”
WESTERN EUROPE, NORTHERN IRELAND, Joshua and Bethany Furan — They share the following: “God has blessed our past four Sundays with 16 first-time visitors and record attendances. Six of these visitors were Irish and the others were from Ghana and Nigeria. Over the last year, we have lost some people due to doctrinal differences, our emphasis on the Gospel, and others simply moving away. We are thankful that despite this, God has consistently grown the church each month. Two new Irish families and two new Ghanaian families have begun attending semi-regularly. While our services are always evangelistic, we have yet to see people get saved. Please pray God would favor us as we have families in our home and endeavor to share the Gospel.CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPULIC, SANTO DIMINGO, Jeffri and Pamela Polanco — They share the following with prayer needs: “During the month of January, we kicked off the month by daily sharing the Gospel of our wonderful Savior. During the campaign, our goals are to go out more often as a church to preach the Gospel—all with the purpose of having more prospects, seeing more people saved, baptized, and discipled. Also, we are looking forward to starting Bible Studies in the small town of Mata Bonita the first week of February. Mata Bonita is 45 minutes away from Nagua and we are building connections in this town of 10,000 people where there is no Gospel-preaching church. Please pray for guidance as we venture into this new area through the church in Nagua. If the Lord permits, the goal is to establish a church there this year, with the upcoming Bible Studies marking the first stage of this new ministry.”
WESTERN EUROPE, FRANCE, CHARLEVILLE, Danny and Janice Flowers — They share the following: “A young woman has come to our church several times in the past few months. Originally from Nigeria, she is a victim of human trafficking but has been able to start a new life in our area. Recently, I shared the Gospel with her, and at first she was quite confident about her soul and about where she would spend eternity. After reading some Bible verses though, her confidence wavered, and she was visibly shaken. She started to realize that her sin problem was a bigger issue than she had imagined and that it had separated her from God. Please pray with us for conviction in her life.”
CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, PUERTO RICO, Robbie and Amanda Leonard — They share the following: “December was a great month celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Throughout the month, we enjoyed our Bible and Breakfast time, gift giving, decorating the church, and ended on Christmas Eve with our special Christmas brunch. Everyone brought many excellent dishes and we had a great time of special music and a Christmas message from Pastor Harmon.EASTERN EUROPE, ESTONIA, TALLIN, Rob and Angela Willoughby — They share the following report: “Our sermon series for the new year is from the book of Isaiah. We wish there were more people coming, but we realize that people must decide for themselves whether they will attend. In the long term, our hope and vision is that the children and youth whom we are reaching with the Gospel will form the core of our church. For now, we share the Gospel, invite people to come and faithfully attend as a family. We still await a man and his family from Australia, but this transition has proved more difficult than they expected.CARIBBEAN, GRENADA, ST. GEORGE, Coco Chan — She shares the following: “The year of 2023 was another year filled with the blessings of God. The Lord again proved Himself faithful, and I wish to share with you a sample of His goodness in this letter.SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, Dan and Debbie Board — They share the following: “This month we welcomed three new students into the school. The young man faithfully attends our Children’s Ministry and comes from a family who do not yet know the Lord. The two young ladies both come from families where their parents were recently saved and faithfully attend the church. Debbie and I plan to support one of the ladies to attend the school, as her grandmother who faithfully attends church is unable to pay the tuition. WEST AFRICA, IVORY COAST, BINGERVILLE, Bob and Becky Mach — They share the following: “Our churches are doing well. The Bingerville church has taken on an assistant pastor full time who will become its senior pastor within the next couple of years. It is reworking its constitution and continuing on with the construction of its building in preparation for autonomy.USA MINISTRIES, NEW MEXICO, SHEEPSPRINGS, John and April McDaniel — They share the following with prayer requests: “Unfortunately, in recent days we have had a few individuals fall ill or require hospitalization. We kindly request prayer for the recovery of one man who was airlifted to Albuquerque for treatment. FAR EAST, JAPAN, James and Rebekah Scott — They share the following: “We have spent much time trying to find a property to have church services. Everywhere we looked, it seemed like we would find a place that was a good size but too expensive or we would find a place that was too small but within my price range. The day we were about to settle on a location, I (James) decided to check the Internet one more time. I came across a property that just went on the market. We were so thankful for God’s blessings. The building is just the right size for just the right price, and it is in a great location. We are excited see what God is going to do in this building in the future.
EAST AFRICA, KENYA, KISUMU, Erica Bohman — She writes, “We recently sent the youth from the new church in Kisumu to youth camp at one of the Shelbys’ churches about two hours away. We are glad that several more young people were able to attend this year than last. It was a wonderful experience for them to get a week of preaching and fellowship with other Christian youth. A faithful couple from the new church went with the young people, and it was encouraging for them to visit another Baptist church besides the new one where they were saved. Now, they have been to two Baptist churches! The Christian fellowship with other mature believers was a great blessing to these new Christians.FAR NORTH, CANADA, TORONTO, Cory and April McTague — They share the following report: “As temperatures began to plummet in November, our schedule was filled with strengthening the Young Adult Group and preparing for Christmas outreach programs. We worked to handle 10,000 flyers that would be mailed to all the houses and apartments in a .5 km radius around the church. It was a rainy dreary day that found us toting three large cardboard boxes of flyers to the post office for mailing. After a quick prayer of dedication, we handed them to the clerk.SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, Nate and Christine Saint — They share the following with prayer needs: “And we finally launched our church services in downtown Cañete. One family put a lot of work into rehabilitating the old house into a suitable meeting place. We helped some, but they did most of the work in tearing down a wall, installing a new beam, replacing some warped floorboards, running new water pipes, installing new stairs to the outhouse, and painting the walls and ceiling. Their efforts paid off and we now have a decent-looking meeting place that should hold as many as 40–50 people plus a separate classroom for the kids. The walls are not installed, so winter might be interesting, but the man assures us that it should not be a problem. WESTERN EUROPE, IRELAND, DUBLIN, Daniel and Elizabeth Canavan — They share the following with prayer requests: “We have had a busy fall his year! We had several visitors come to the church and some of them have continued to come. We also had several visitors from the United States come and spend some special time with us. Here are some of the highlights this past fall:
• KJV BBQ Sunday — Brother Stephen Finley was our speaker.
• Anniversary Sunday — Hope Baptist Church celebrated its 19th Anniversary.
What a glorious day to rejoice in all that God has done here in Dublin, Ireland!
• Parenting Conference — On Saturday and Sunday, November 4 & 5, we had a conference on Parenting. . . . Our people were blessed and challenged to have more Christ-like homes. I believe this will strengthen the families in our church and in turn strengthen the church.
• Soul Winning — There is a little anxiety before our weekly session of knocking on doors to share the Gospel. . . . Though it began with some anxiety, it amazes me how we always finish three hours later with deep joy in our hearts.
PRAYER REQUESTS
• Youth worker to work with teens
• Soul winning efforts to be Holy Spirit filled and bring forth fruit
• Church offerings to increase
• A teen recently saved that he will go on for the Lord”
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, Peter and Zirlene Doolittle — They share the following report: “The church in Eldorado has been going well and people have been coming to the Lord. A young mother who was addicted to drugs accepted the Lord as her Savior. During our Thanksgiving Service, she gave her testimony of how God saved her and is helping her overcome the drugs and struggles of her old life.WEST AFRICA, NIGERIA, PORT HARCOURT, David and Rose Maskey — They share the following praise report with prayer needs: “Recently, we attended the 2nd Anniversary service of our 7th church plant and God blessed in a special way. We started the church with one of our staff men in November of 2021 in the city of Yenagoa, which is the capital of the next state to the west of us. The Friday before, about 30 of our people took the 2 ½ hour drive there and spent the day soul winning and inviting people to the church, and to God be the glory, we saw 124 souls trusting Christ as their Savior! Our staff man and I talked to a group of teenage boys and nine of them got saved. They all seemed receptive and sincere and some of them even came to the service. On that Anniversary Sunday, they had a record attendance of 287 with 80 first-time visitors! Their small building unfortunately could not contain all the people and some of them had to stand outside and listen. In spite of the crowded conditions, they all seemed tuned in as I preached to them and about 20 raised their hands to receive salvation. It was a wonderful day for them and us, and we are praising God for the good results!”FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, CEBU CITY, Frank and Japhia Denisi — They share the following report: “A couple of months ago, I was shocked to be tagged in a social media post. There was a lady who was looking for a pastor whose name was on the front of a Bible and it was my name! The Bible belonged to her brother who recently was killed in a motorcycle crash. She was reaching out to me to share the story of how that Bible has changed her life and her family.
About five years prior to this surprise contact, a young man joined our Bible Study of college students. He was an atheist who was struggling with his gender identity. That is a common problem here. However, after the Bible Study, I gave him my own KJV Bible and signed it and wrote a message of encouragement in the front cover. For about a year after that, he would read it and began to change within. Why? Because he truly had gotten saved. Tragically and suddenly, he died in a motorcycle crash. His older sister knew that he had changed and it had something to do with the Bible. She started her own spiritual journey that led her to a nearby Baptist church, and she too was saved! She contacted me to inform me to keep doing what I am doing. My heart was so encouraged at a time when I greatly needed it. Christian, keep sowing seeds of the Gospel, go soul winning, pass out tracts, invite people to church, and just do not stop doing it!FAR NORTH, CANADA, NEW BRUNSWICK, Dan and Jennifer Post — They share the following report and prayer needs: “We are grateful to see the Lord working here in the French-speaking city of Saint-Quentin. We are encouraged by those who are coming because they are seeking the Lord or they are young Christians who want to grow. Several times, I have been asked Biblical questions at the beginning of the Wednesday night service and it helps all who hear to understand the difference between relying on religion and true Christianity. The most recent question was about communion and what it means. Please pray for God to continue to work in hearts.USA MILITARY MINISTRIES, SPAIN, Michael and Deanna Staley — They give the following report: “We had our 2nd Thanksgiving Dinner at the church this year. Even though we did not have as many as last year, we still had 14 people. One of the men in the church volunteered to cook the turkey. We had lots of food and some great fellowship as we sat and ate. One of our military ladies gave thanks that the church hosted the dinner; otherwise, she would have been alone on Thanksgiving. We have the Thanksgiving Dinner for people like her so that no one is left without a place to go.
WEST AFRICA, THE GAMBIA, Daniel and Sarah Jenkins — They share the following report and prayer needs: “The Christmas season has been very busy for us this year! We just finished hosting our 3rd Annual Biblical Faith Seminar with about 60 pastors, ministry leaders, and missionaries in attendance. Our topic for the seminar was ‘Social Media Evangelism.’ The seminar was a one-day event with sessions taught by a pastor from Senegal as well as BIMI missionary Josh Mead. We also were able to host eight different pastors from four separate West African countries during the week to record and film more than 60 Bible teachings in five different languages. Our goal was to help train, equip, and encourage these men to engage their people groups and language with the Gospel. For some of them, this means certain persecution. Their faith and boldness was astounding to witness and we were thrilled to partner with them in getting the Gospel to these various neighboring countries and people groups using social media as a Gospel tool.SOUTH AMERICA, ARGENTINA, SAN MIGUEL de TUCUMAN, Larry and Alma Owens — They share the following report: “In October, we started our first monthly meetings to start churches in small towns throughout northern Argentina. We are in the process of buying a bus and a large tent and other items for the tent meetings. There is a team of soul winners who will go to these communities for three days of tent meetings to win souls and try to establish a future church. In our first meeting in Santiago, my son Joshua was in charge of the meetings. There were 110 in attendance with 20 saved and 12 baptized. There was an important politician from the area who accepted the Lord as his Savior.” Please pray for these new converts and for the establishment of a sound local church in that community!
USA MINISTRIES, NORTH CAROLINIA, HENDERSONVILLE, Ed and Barbara O’Brien — They share the following: “On Thanksgiving evening we had a service and meal together with our people. Most of our people do not have any family nearby and the special service gave us the opportunity to share with those who would have been alone.
BIMI ARM MINISTRIES, Swante and Linda Lindquist — They share the following with prayer needs: “Praise the Lord! We rejoice in all His marvelous works! It has been a joy and blessing to fill in for the John Harris family in BELIZE, Central America, for the past four months. We rejoice in the two ladies who were saved, the faithful attendance of the regulars, and a few new attendees. October brought extremely difficult heat with very high humidity, bringing health issues. The torrential rains made pick-ups for services very challenging with some being unable to attend due to the flooding in the surrounding area. The Belizean people were remarking on the intensity of the unusual heat.WESTERN EUROPE, FINLAND, Andrew and Nicole Wippler — They share the following: “The Lord has moved several Christians to Finland who are already grounded in the faith and have begun to worship with us weekly. Having this core group of believers has allowed us to establish the necessary non-profit association that other churches in Finland and the United States hold. This association will enable us to stay in Finland for the long term, but it also adds new challenges as well. For instance, we are now required to hold two business meetings per year. These involve various church-related things such as election of deacons, voting regarding the budget, and a summary review of the events that happened in the church for the previous year called toimintakertomus. While there is still much spiritual darkness in Finland, the Lord is using us as a ray of light. We thank you for your continued prayer for our family as we serve our Lord here.FAR EAST, JAPAN, AOMORI, Steve and Kimiyo Canter — They share the following report: “In our last prayer letter, we were still waiting on the Lord concerning the building we are renting. Unlike the bank building, we have signed a letter of ‘Intent to Buy’ and have the confidence we will be able to buy the entire property. A donor approached us earlier in the year asking if there was property we would like to buy. When we asked our landlady about the property, she said, ‘I want to sell to the church and no one else.’ That was exciting news, but it has taken this long to work out the details. Through a series of events with the donor, we have put together enough money to buy the property outright debt free. Our theme for the year Rejoice Evermore is very fitting! Rejoice with us for God’s provision.EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, NTINDA, Dan and Amie Dwire — They share the following with prayer needs: “After over a year, we have finally received our building plan approval from the national level (the approval step that is the most time-consuming and most difficult to navigate)! We have already submitted our plans to the local authorities who would not accept the application without the national certification. These months of waiting have been a time of prayer and learning patience—both personally and as a church family. Praise the Lord for the faithfulness in the giving of our Faith Baptist Church family throughout this time of waiting on the Lord—not only for the building fund but also in tithes and missions! Please continue to pray for us as we continue to lead the church in this building project.USA MINISTRIES, NEW YORK, THE BRONX, Alan and Sabrina Davis — They share the following: “One man has been praying for his wife and family for some time. Recently, he told me his wife was having some emotional problems. So, I asked him it might be possible for Sabrina to give her a call in order to speak with her. Since he said it would be all right, she gave her a call and eventually said his wife had accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior. We did visit them on Saturday and invited them to church on Sunday.
Recently, Sabrina took two girls out on visitation, giving out flyers, tracts, and speaking to people about their eternal destination. They came across one lady who during the conversation began crying over her son who was recently murdered. She did see, however, her need to go to church. Please pray for her. Afterwards, Sabrina took the girls to a thrift store here in the Bronx and bought each of them three dresses.”
CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, SAN FERNANDO, HUIXQUILUCAN, Nick and Patty Sutmaier — They share the following: “A man got saved several months ago and was baptized and discipled. He has a wife and two wonderful children. Their daughter just left the nursery a couple of years ago. He had a very rough home life growing up. After getting saved and baptized, he struggled in many areas of his life, especially with alcohol for several years. He would be faithful to church for a while and then fall off the wagon. He would try to straighten up and come back to church only to fall off the wagon again and again. One day, realizing he was living in a vicious cycle, he decided to wholeheartedly live for the Lord. It is truly amazing to see the difference in his spirit and his life since that happened! EASTERN AFRICA, KENYA, Erica Bohman— She shares the following while on a short furlough: “I have been in over twenty-five churches in nine states reporting on what the Lord has done in Kenya the past term and thanking my supporters and friends for their prayers over the past years. I have also been able to meet with several more pastors and their families to give them a personal update as I pass through their areas on non-church service days. The Lord has blessed with wonderful meetings and safe travels. It has been an incredible blessing to reconnect with so many we met on deputation and to see them faithfully serving the Lord in their areas.
The Lord has used this furlough to greatly encourage me concerning our nation. Although our country is far from where it should be, I am grateful to see that God is still working. I have been able to be in many churches that are seeking to serve the Lord on the mission field. In a recent conference, two young people surrendered their lives to missions! God is working!!”
WESTERN EUROPE, SCOTLAND, ABERDEEN, Rick and Sarah Demastus— They share the following report with prayer needs: “I (Rick) have had the opportunity to meet a few different men while out passing out tracts. One man was saved and used to be a part of the Brethren Church, but fell into sin. Pray for his growth and commitment to come to church. The other man approached me on the street and started pouring out questions about God. I had a follow-up meeting with him this week and was able to give him the Gospel again and provide him with a Bible and reading plan. . . . Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in his heart in what we talked about and that he will receive Christ.SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, David and Debbie Board— hey share the following with prayer needs: “Progress on the educational building is moving right along. Please continue to pray that we will be able to complete this project in time to comply with the government’s requirements as we seek to be granted a permit to operate the academy as an international school that is fully legal. We firmly believe that the academy will be an effective tool to reach many more families with the Gospel.CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, SANTO DOMINGO, Jeff and Pamela Polanco— They share the following with prayer needs: “This month we initiated a monthly prayer gathering for our church’s men, focusing on discipleship in the various aspects of their daily lives as Christians, fathers, workers, and community members. We had a great fellowship, prayer, and time in the Word of God. Our desire is that the church will cultivate a Gospel-oriented mentality—one where the Gospel of Christ controls our daily living. Please pray for these men as they continue to grow in their faith.FAR EAST, JAPAN, HIROSAKI, James and Rebekah Scott— They share the following report and prayer requests: “We have been very busy. I spent a lot of time searching for a place to start a church. I went to many different real estate agencies, drove around town looking for buildings that were advertised. I quickly encountered some obstacles. . . . And so, as I searched for a building, many owners have expressed their concern with us wanting to start a church. However, at the present, we have found a place that would be perfect to start a church. We are discussing with the real estate agent and the owner and everything seem to be going well. Please pray that we will be able to get this building.
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, Milton and Sharon Nunes— They write giving prayer requests: “Praise the Lord with us for the souls that have recently trusted in Jesus as their Savior! One had been coming to church for several years. However, it was just recently that under conviction she called on the Lord to save her. Recently, a first-time visitor responded to the preaching of God’s Word and walked down the aisle giving her heart to the Lord. Pray for both and for the many souls we mentioned in the last prayer letter that they will all grow in the Lord and serve Him faithfully.
ARM MINISTRY, Don and Patsy Drake— They write, “We arrived in Grenada October 12th to fill in for six weeks for BIMI Missionary Joe Childers as he goes to the States. Brother Childers met us at the airport, and we loaded our bags and left for Grenville, about 14 miles away. However, it took more than an hour because of the narrow and winding roads. The city is located on the east side by the coast about midway of the island. It is the second largest town with more than five thousand people.SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, Carl and Cynthia Johnson— They share the following report and prayer requests: “A deaf man who visited our church recently was convicted of his sinful life and asked to speak with me. After showing him in the Bible what Christ had done on the cross to pay for his sins, he prayed with repentance trusting Christ alone for his salvation. He asked for prayers in this new life.
CARIBBEAN, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS, Paul and Amy Valles— The share the following: “Paul has been taking one of the church teens out soul winning regularly. He is quiet and though young, he has been through a lot in life already. As we went out visiting together recently, I asked him why he goes visiting with me. I expected a shrug, meaning, ‘I don’t know,’ as a lot of young people respond to spiritual questions, but I was surprised at his answer. He told me he wants to lead someone to the Lord. Most young people only want to go visiting because they are bored at home, want to get out of the house, or enjoy an air-conditioned car. He is very quiet and shy, but that night, he had a great opportunity to share the Gospel with a fellow teenager. Please pray for that teen to understand the Gospel and trust Christ as Savior, and too, pray for my young soul winning partner that God would make him into a great soul winner.”CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, SAN PABLO, Jeremy and Michelle Blanz — They share the following with prayer needs: “Jeremy has stayed busy preaching through the book of Joshua and teaching the doctrines of the church, while Michelle teaches the children’s class and cares for the children. We are thankful for a faithful man who teaches our teen classes. We have also been continuing our monthly English services, but we may have to make a few changes to that. Jeremy has been unable to drive the church van due to it not passing the emissions test. So we sold it, since the Lord has provided the means for us to purchase a much nicer van and we will have it very soon. In the meantime, we have been using our personal vehicle to pick up people for church.USA MINISTRIES, TEXAS, COMMERCE, James and Andrea Mansfield — They share the following report: “Where God guides He provides. . . . We are holding on to this promise as we enter the next few months! He has recently guided us into starting a ‘van route’ using our personal vehicle. A local church here lost their pastor and went through a very hard time and shut down their bus ministry. There are dozens of kids who want to come and we have the facilities, but not the faculty or the finances! We have lost quite a few families over the last few months due to various reasons, leaving us short-handed and financially tight. However, God has brought this new opportunity our way, and we are scrambling to make it work. Please do pray for our newly started ‘Victory Kids Club’ on Wednesday nights for the kids. We hope to eventually start bringing them on Sundays. We are in desperate need of help. God has given us quite a few sons and we are in the process of training them. Our two oldest are both driving and have vehicles, but the law prohibits them from picking up minors until they are 18.”
FAR NORTH, CANADA, TORONTO, Cory and April McTague— They share the following report: “Our church was blessed recently with two ladies joining our membership. Another lady was recently saved due to a crisis and one of our ladies led her to Christ. She has been faithfully attending since then and is in discipleship. Pray for her to be baptized soon and to grow in her faith. One of our faithful young men is in ‘Discipleship Training.’ He will be a great help as we have a large number of Spanish in our church. Another recently got assurance of salvation, so please pray for her to be baptized and her sons to be saved. A Hindu family started coming after their son attended Day Camp. The father and son come every week. Pray for their salvations! There is also another lady we are praying will be saved soon.”
SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, SANTIAGO, Clifton and Tiffany Booth— They give the following report: “God has provided us with new workers within our church plant. We have worked for quite a while helping people to grow in their faith through discipleship and other ministries. The people are understanding the need to serve and give of themselves. Every week, we have a good group of people serving in different areas of the church, including working in the children’s ministry. USA MILITARY MINISTRY, JAPAN, TOKYO, YOKOTA AIR BASE, Dan and Haruna McKittrick— They give the following report: “Two young men have been coming to the services and were interested in baptism. We all went out to eat one evening and had some discussions about spiritual things. The next Sunday they made public their profession of faith and then followed the Lord in baptism. Please pray for these young men to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. WESTERN EUROPE, FRANCE, CHARLIEVILLE-MAZIERES, Danny and Janice Flower— They share the following: “I was amused the other day when I saw quite a few young people walking in a busy area of downtown Charleville with their heads down, staring at their phones. My amusement switched to concern that they could really get hurt if they did not pay attention to their surroundings. The reality of being distracted is a problem with all cultures and France is no exception! It seems like there is always something more important to the average French person than thinking about God or their spiritual condition. They fill their lives with work, family activities, sports—anything and everything but God.SOUTH CENTRAL EUROPE, MOLDOVA, SOROCA, David and Stephanie Gross— They share the following report with prayer needs: “In our last prayer letter, I mentioned a man and his choice to believe the Gospel and trust in Christ. When he was in the hospital this last time, he talked with another person about the Bible. What a joy it was for him to call me and ask me for a Bible to give to this person! Please pray for him as his health continues to be very volatile. He currently cannot even walk with crutches due to the weakness in his legs.SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, RIONEGRO, Peter and Elisabeth Putney—
They share the following report with prayer needs: “Recently, we have had several open doors to preach in the public schools here in Rionegro. When these opportunities arise, my wife will spend the first 15 minutes teaching English to the teens, and then I will follow that up with about 30 minutes of preaching. We pray that the Lord will use these messages and times of witness to make an impact in the hearts of the young people. I believe the Lord is working on the heart of the administrator that invited us. She is the sister of a man in our church and I have witnessed to her before. While she still has not received Christ, God has used her to allow us to preach to others. Please pray for her salvation.”SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN, Mark and Katie Gerosin— They share the following with prayer requests: “Our annual teen camp titled ‘Watch’ was centered on the last days before Christ returns. There were teens from multiple different churches. They worked hard and got lots of spiritual challenges in between. We saw God move and fortify our youth in a great many ways. It was a blessing to see some trust Jesus for the first time and others dedicate their lives to making a change in their generation as Christ’s coming approaches. Pray that they stand up for truth in these dark days.”CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, QUERETARA, Tim and Brittany Pontius— They share the following report after arriving on the field for their first term: “During the short time in Irapuato, Mexico, I have already had the privilege of leading two men to the Lord. Please pray that both will grow as Christians and will attend church faithfully. We are very thankful for the opportunities our pastor has given us to be involved in ministry here. Please pray that God would help us to get settled in and that He would use us mightily for His glory here in Mexico.”CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, SAN PABLO, Jeremy and Michelle Blanz— They write the following with prayer requests: “It is hard to believe that October is already past. September is one of the busiest times of the year for us as we both have Children’s Day and Costa Rica Independence Day right after beginning a new school year. We have continued to proclaim the Gospel throughout San Pablo. We continue to preach and teach sound doctrine. We met one couple on visitation who is now attending on Tuesday nights. Jeremy also had an opportunity to preach at the language school where new missionaries learn Spanish before service in their fields of service.
Unfortunately, the church van has continued to have several problems. We have now passed the window of time to have it pass inspection and we are no longer able to drive it. Yesterday, we had it looked at by another mechanic and we believe we may have found the problem that has eluded us for a long time. However, there will be significant cost. At this point, we are looking to sell it to someone who can fix it up. Jeremy has begun looking for another van and considering all of the options.
Before sharing our prayer requests, we would like to send special thanks to our sending church West Jacksonville Baptist Church as well as a supporting church in Tennessee that have sent special offerings to help purchase a van. Thank you!
PRAYER REQUESTS
• That God would continue to save souls and added them to the church
• That God would help our church grow spiritually in both faith and in practice
• That God will lead us as we explore the options of getting another van”
SOUTH AMERICA, SURINAME, Mark and Emily Mariner—They share the following with prayer needs: “We are thrilled to share with you some exciting news that is a big answer to prayer. On Monday, October 2, we received the news that our son’s visa to Suriname was approved. . . . With this visa approval we can now proceed to Suriname as we planned.USA MINISTRIES, NEW YORK, THE BRONX, Alan and Sabrina Davis—They share the following with prayer requests: “Recently, after the service in our apartment/church in the Bronx, we traveled with seven people to First Baptist Church in Hicksville, New York, which is an independent Baptist church on Long Island for our baptism. It took an hour and the traffic was very heavy. Like the Ethiopian in Acts 8, one lady professed with all of her heart that she believed in the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and she was baptized.SOUTHEAST ASIA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, BIBLE DISTRIBUTION PROJECT, Alan and Donna Brooks—They share an exciting report with prayer needs: “Pastor Holmes shared with me that while he was speaking at a local church, a young man told him he was training to be a preacher and that the ‘Bibleman’ had given him a Bible at his secondary school in Madang. The ‘Bibleman’ is what many of them call me. This young man had trusted the Lord as his Savior and felt the call of God on his life to go into the ministry. He proudly showed the dates he had recorded in his Bible. 
EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, MASAKA, Thomas and Kristin Irvin—They share the following: “The Lord continues to save souls, but this month came with certain consolation rarely seen in Uganda. Ugandans respond well to reasoning from the Scriptures and as a result, professions of faith abound. The negative is that many of these conversations prove disingenuous in the end. However, from time to time, the Lord blesses us with tremendous conversions that stir the hearts of the men and women who faithfully witness. CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, BARBADOS, ST. PHILIP, Robert and Rhoda Smith—They share the following report with prayer needs: “Last Saturday we had a baptismal service. What a joy it was to baptize a little boy, his mother, and another! The mother grew up in church and believed in the Lord but could not remember a time when she had asked Him to be her Savior. So she did just that one evening at our dinner table and she settled the issue of her own salvation. Her son prayed in children’s church to receive Christ. The mother, her husband, and son had been so faithful in church attendance. We have known the husband since coming to Barbados. He has a wonderful testimony. We praise the Lord that little by little our church is growing.FAR EAST, TAIWAN, TAIPEI CITY, Jon and April Flowers—They share the following: “On our baptism Sunday, I had a lady ask me if she could be baptized. She had been coming to Hope for a few months. I, of course, was very excited to hear this question from her. I immediately asked if she would be willing to do a Bible Study with April and me. The next week, we began studying the Bible with her. On our third week, she bowed her head and prayed to receive Jesus as her Savior. Please pray for her as she grows in her faith. She, like many others, had been to other churches that believe another doctrine and was very, very lost. We praise God for the opportunity to help her and others learn what true salvation is. Please continue to pray for our family and the folks of Hope Baptist Church.”
WESTERN EUROPE, SPAIN, MADRID, Julio and Andrea Velasquez— They share the following report: “In our last newsletter we asked you to pray for several people who needed to be saved. Praise the Lord that in August a mother and her daughter put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior! They have been faithfully attending all the church services and continue with discipleship classes with one of our dear ladies in the church. We resumed our monthly ladies meeting and the attendance for these meetings has increased in a great way. We also began our men’s meeting last week.WEST AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh—They share the following report with prayer needs: “I have mentioned in a previous letter that we have some teenagers who go soul wining with us on Saturdays. Five of them have been going with us for several months now, but we have had three others join us in the last two weeks. The ones who have been going for a while are starting to grow in their confidence when it comes to sharing the Gospel. . . . They have not been able to see anyone saved yet, so please pray for the Lord to allow the Holy Spirit to work as we all witness.USA MINISTRIES, NORTH CAROLINA, HENDERSONVILLE, Ed and Barbara O’Brien—They share the following report with prayer needs: “It is so exciting to see how the Lord has answered pray and blessed His church. As the church has continued to grow little by little, we have been asking the Lord to give us new families and especially for more workers to help in the ministry. Each Saturday morning we meet together with those who are able and go door knocking and soul winning. As a result, we have had first time visitors nine out of the last 10 weeks and a good group of these have returned several times. Some of those who have come for the first time have now been saved and are inviting others to come to church. The Lord has also blessed us with two new families who drive almost two hours each way to be with us and have now joined our church.USA MILITARY MINISTRIES, SPAIN, ROTA, Michael and DeAnna Staley—They share the following with prayer needs: “Of the four ships that are stationed in Rota, we have at least one person from each ship who attend on a regular basis. One of the ships, Arleigh Burke, has most of our people. A couple visited last week, and when asked how they heard about our church, the man told me that he had heard people talking about it on the ship. We are thankful for the faithfulness of the sailors to invite people to Bethel.FAR NORTH, GREENLAND, ILULISSAT, Gage and Aleah Gilbert—They share the following with praise and prayer requests: “We are thankful for the ministry opportunities that the Lord has already allowed us to participate in here a Iluisani Baptist Oqualuffiat and are looking forward to several more as we enter the last months of 2023! Now that the Shulls are back, the Greenlandic services have once more restarted, including the Wednesday night kid’s club (Kunngip Klubbia). Another exciting opportunity is going into the local prison several times a month. The Lord has blessed this ministry over the years as many have heard the Gospel and lasting relationships have been made due to the Shull’s faithfulness in this work. We are looking forward to also being involved in this fruitful work. Many of these inmates have no one to love them and show them that they care. Please pray with us that much fruit would come from this effort as the Gospel is given and seeds are sown.SOUTHEAST ASIA, NEW ZEALAND, DUNEDIN, Bob and Diana Rutta—They share the following report: “The Lord has given us a wonderful new opportunity to reach people as He is bringing a mission field right to our doorsteps. New Zealand is a farming country and an important part of the economy is the workers at the freezing works (butchers) that prepare the animals so they can be shipped around the world. About five months ago we started getting some visitors at church from one of the larger freezing works, and we had seen some of them get saved. It turns out that this company has decided that it needs to slowly bring in about 120–150 immigrant workers over the course of a year. They are bringing some each month. They are providing housing for their workers in a former Catholic school that has been renovated. All are workers at this point. Eventually, some of these men will want to bring over their wives and families.WESTERN EUROPE, IRELAND, DERRY, Josh and Bethany Furan—They share the following with prayer needs: “It is so comforting to know that Jesus is the architect, foundation, and supply for establishing local churches. Thank you for supporting the work here in Derry with your prayers and support! Much of the beginning of September was spent preparing and doing outreach for our evangelistic university students and African Sundays. God blessed both Sundays and brought 40+ visitors from Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, China, and the Irish nationalist/Catholic community. The church had its highest attendance ever on African Sunday with 77 people. Pastor James and I preached the Gospel on both Sundays. Please pray that people will truly be born again.
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, SAO PAULO, Dan and Becky Bennett—They share the following report: “As we look back over the past few months, we praise the Lord for the opportunities to serve our gracious Lord. Last month the pastor of the hearing church, where the deaf church meets, asked Dan to preach on Sunday morning. There was a good crowd, and the people listened intently as Dan shared about the need for more laborers among the Deaf. At the invitation, two men responded and talked with Dan and asked how they could help. One man said that he would be willing to preach once a month, while the other man with tears in his eyes said that he and his wife would pray about this ‘open door’ of opportunity. Please pray God would send more laborers among the Deaf in São Paulo and Brazil.”
FAR NORTH, CANADA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, BURNABY, Russell and Lisa Mackay—They share the follow report with prayer needs: “I was sitting in the cancer clinic getting my weekly treatment when it dawned upon me that we could move our 8 AM Sunday service to our office and not have to pay the Serbian church $550/week. For over 20 years, we had shared this office with the Anchor Baptist Church (a church plant that is just two years younger than our church. Would you please pray for Ben Turner, our dear friend and the pastor of this church? He has just been diagnosed with brain cancer this past Friday). Since COVID, they have had to have their Sunday morning services in the office at 10 AM. So, we meet at 8 AM and they meet at 10 AM. There are some challenges with this location though. The stairs into the office are very steep. So, most of our seniors cannot attend. Also, the office can only seat about 100 people maximum. We had 95 last Sunday. Would you please pray for God to give our church a perfect building to meet in?”
USA MILITARY, ITALY, Michael and DeAnna Staley—They share the following report: “We were recently invited to a Change of Command ceremony for one of the ships. A man who attends our church was recently promoted from the XO, executive office, second in charge, to the CO, commanding officer, captain of the ship. The ceremony was held on the pier. It was exciting to witness our first Change of Command ceremony. We are excited for the Commander as he takes over the leadership of the ship. Please pray for this Commander as he leads the ship and its crew.
In August, we had Back to School Sunday and recognized the students that would be returning to school. Each one received a small gift; then after the service, we took them to Burger King. We also recognized the military personnel in our church who are continuing their education while serving full-time.
This past Friday we had four of the single guys over for a home-cooked meal. We always enjoy getting to spend time with them while they are in port. In about a month, they will be heading back out on patrol. Pray for these young men and all our military men and women.”
WESTERN EUROPE, NORTHERN IRELAND, LONDONDERRY, Joshua and Bethany Furan—They share the following with prayer needs: “God has blessed various forms of outreach. We had a young man who encountered Pastor James and me on the street. He had just prayed for God to help him and then met us. He has visited a couple of times now and is struggling with addiction. He has a salvation testimony but has been away from the Lord for some time. We have also had the blessing of having several unsaved people to our home who had turned down previous invites. One family said they would visit the church soon. Our street outreach in the city center has had favor and good openness and no hostility. I was thankful to design a new website for Derry Baptist. We will add evangelistic videos on the site soon and pray that God uses it.SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, Nate and Christine Saint—They share the following: “We have officially moved into our new church building! Our people really stepped up and gave so we could buy windows, doors, and even flooring, None of them are essential to worship, but they are important for security and cleanliness, and we are thankful for a building that actually looks like a church auditorium. We still have a lot to do to finish the space properly, but we will work on those details as time and money allows and rejoice in what God has given.CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, BELMOPAN, CAYO, Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer—They share the following: “Some weeks ago I took our teens to a three-day campout with several other Baptist churches form Belize. It was a very enriching trip for everyone. We slept in tents and cooked on campfires. There were several preaching times and breakout sessions for the guys and girls each day. It was also wonderful to hear teens giving their testimonies of how God has changed them. I know that the Lord is working in the hearts of our teens to seek God’s will for their lives. Pray for faithfulness to commitments that were made by the teens this summer.FAR EAST, JAPAN, AOMORI KIRINOSAWA, Paul and Sarah Johnson—They share the follow report: “What a summer! The past couple of months have been incredibly busy with activities, visitors, outreaches, and summer camps. Amid all the activities, plans to purchase the building have progressed as well. As of this writing, we are waiting to get the final fire inspection done, but our church has voted to purchase the building. We will send a comprehensive letter to our supporting pastors, but if we are able to raise $75,000, we will be able to purchase the building and get the needed repairs done. We have been overwhelmed at the way God has provided already and looking forward to seeing Him work in the days to come.SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, SANTIAGO, Clifton and Tiffany Booth—They share the following: “God continues to do incredible things in Chile. The month of August in Chile is called Kid’s Month. It started years ago as a marketing campaign by retailers to make mid-year sales, but we use it as an opportunity to reach out into the community to reach kids for Christ. This year we held a mini-Vacation Bible School on Saturday and literally went out into the streets to invite kids and their parents in. We ended up having 27 kids attend and over half were first-time visitors. We were able to share the Gospel with them. We know for sure that two children received Jesus as Savior and many seeds were planted. Pray with us that these seeds would grow and others, including the parents, would come to Christ.
SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, Peter and Elisabeth Putney—They share the following report: “‛You won me to the Lord, Pastor!’ Recently, I started discipling a new family that has started attending our church. A lady and her husband were studying with me in my office when I asked her to share her testimony. She told me she had trusted Christ about eight years ago. I asked her to tell about it. She said, ‘You were there, you led me to the Lord.’ I was shocked at her answer until I remembered making a visit to a home years ago to witness to someone. Although the person I had gone to visit did not get saved, she was there listening to the Gospel and afterward she made a profession of faith. Eight years went by and I never saw her in church, but just recently, I had the privilege of baptizing her! It was a strong reminder to be patient as God does His work in the hearts of people.WESTERN EUROPE, SPAIN, MADRID, Larry and Brenda Writesel—They share the following: “This past month of August we were able to participate more than ever before. We stepped out of our comfort zone and God truly blessed. The camp in our area is Monte Calvario Campamento Bautista or Mount Calvary Baptist Camp, located in Guadalajara, a small town northeast of Madrid. They have six weeks of camp, small children, juniors, teens, young adults and this year they had two family camps. Brenda and the children went to the teen or Jovens 1 camp week. Everything was on Spanish so it helped strengthen their language training. Our church we attend in Parla had someone in every camp this year. This was a great blessing to see and to hear the children during testimony time at church afterwards. God is blessing this camp and has seen many called into ministry from it.
WEST AFRICA, MALI, Josh and Alyssa Clay—They write, “A blessing to the ministry here was having the Pensacola Christian College basketball team come to do a camp for the basketball center here. The kids instantly connected with the players through the game of basketball. That really helped when we broke into small groups each day and went through the Gospel with them. The first day, we went over the topic of sin, the next day we talked about the judgment for that sin, and the last day we discussed salvation through Jesus Christ. This was great reinforcement to the regular lessons I presented every month, and the kids asked some great questions and as they were really searching for the truth.”
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, SAO PAULA, Beca Pape—She writes, “I have just arrived here in Brazil and am looking forward to a wonderful and fruitful trip. I will be in this country for a little over a month and will have the opportunity to visit with four missionary families and see their works. Each of these families is working with the Deaf in southern Brazil and I am looking forward to getting to see and be a part of these ministries for this short time. Though I am looking to work long-term in the Amazon, these families have already been a tremendous blessing and a huge help to me as I prepare for Deaf ministry in Brazil. If you could keep me in prayer that much would be accomplished during my time here, I would appreciate it!”
SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, BANGKOK, Daniel and Lisa Files—They share the following: “Two weeks ago, we had a baptismal service and four people were baptized, two men and two ladies. Before they were baptized, each one gave testimony about his salvation experience. It was exciting to hear how God had worked in their hearts to bring them to the point of accepting Christ and to following the Lord in baptism because that is a big deal here, and sometimes causing family problems. . . . Pray for them that they would continue to be faithful and grow in Christ.”WESTERN EUROPE, FRANCE, CHARIEVILLE, Danny and Janice Flowers—They share the following: “This summer at a youth camp in Belgium, there were close to 50 teens from all over Europe who spoke Dutch, English, French, and Spanish. The theme was on dealing with modern-day idols that can easily take God’s place in our lives. Each day the teens were divided into two main groups (French-speaking and English-speaking) and were taught important truths through challenging lessons. Each evening all the teens came together for worship and to hear a message that was translated into each language. On the second night, the Lord led me to preach on hell. During the invitation, six kids left their seats and came forward to be dealt with; some seeking assurance of salvation and others trusted Christ. Throughout the ten-day camp, nine young people came to Jesus, and many others dedicated their lives to the Lord. My son’s heart was touched after one of the sermons and he told me, ‘Dad, I can’t wait to get back to basketball so I can witness to my teammates.’ It was probably one of the best summer camps I‘ve ever participated in. The Holy Spirit was truly at work, and the teens were sensitive to His leading. We praise the Lord for this!”
USA MINISTRIES, NEW MEXICO, SHEEPSPRINGS, John and April McDaniel—They write, “This summer has been a fruitful season of ministry for us. One highlight was preaching a funeral service at our church. When giving the invitation, 15 souls responded to be saved. We attended camp at Apache Creek Deaf and Youth Ranch in July. Both of us led young people to the Lord at this camp. God has showed up in our Sunday and Wednesday services. We are having visitors, picking up people in our church van, and people are being saved and baptized. Susannah got saved at VBS and was baptized and in a few days John will be doing a wedding for one’s mother and her fiancé, who was also saved recently. Thank you for praying for our continued discipleship program. We had five complete the course. Glory! FAR NORTH, CANADA, NEW BRUNSWICK, Dan and Jennifer Post.— They share the following report, “I want to become a Christian.’ These were the first words that a lady spoke to Jennifer and me as we visited her home. She had been coming to church for several years but was counting on her good works for salvation. Praise the Lord she accepted Christ that day as her Personal Savior! After she prayed to receive the Lord she then said she wanted to be baptized. We are happy for her in her newfound faith and looking forward to a baptismal service. God can!USA MINISTRIES, TEXAS, COMMERCE, James and Andrea Mansfield.— They share the following report, “We had the busiest summer ever this year. Elijah and I were privileged to join the BIMI CONNECT medical mission trip to the Amazon! He and I had some life-changing experiences. We took a canoe down the Amazon to reach remote villages. We hung tarps to create triage and a medical clinic. While the medical volunteers ministered to the physical needs and gave such things as flip-flops, parasite treatment, eye glasses etc., we were able to have services for the children and adults presenting the gospel. We also went into schools and shared the gospel with over 700 children! We enjoyed using things like balloons and the wordless book to help with the language barrier and preaching with an interpreter was certainly an experience. Thank you to all who prayed and donated to this venture.”
SOUTH CENTRAL AFRICA, BOTSWANA, Mike and Cindy Haley—They wrote the following just before leaving on furlough: “These are some of the blessings that have come of late:
* OUR FIRST ORDAINED DEACONS — This past Sunday three of our faithful men were ordained as deacons to serve Grace Baptist Church AND to also go out as church planters.
*PASTORS COMING TO CHRIST — A friend of ours, working in the northern part of Botswana, conducted a workshop for pastors and taught the doctrine of salvation. Not surprisingly, 11 of these pastors who come from traditional African churches, and the youngest of them being 53 years old, were born again at the end of the week! It so underscores the need to reach many of those here who are sincere in their desire for God but do not know and understand the true Gospel of salvation in Christ alone. We will use Grace Oasis as a place to do this very same kind of work.
* PASTOR MONTE has been filling in for an ailing pastor whom he met in the village where he lives and, of course, has been preaching the Gospel. The pastor, who is dying with liver disease, has been saved, and a man similar to a deacon, and the pastor’s wife, and just recently four other adults as well!
PRAYER REQUESTS
• Funds for Grace Oasis
• Approval of our application for permanent residence
• Church leaders and Shane and Emily as they lead the church during the next four months
• Travel safety and God’s blessings as we minister on our furlough
• For our church families as so many are going through difficult and trying times
CENTRAL EUROPE, CROATIA, Ron and Rachel Winkler—They share the following: “D. is one of several people at church currently struggling with health issues. Her many health needs caused her to miss a lot of church for a couple months. Recently, she has been able to consistently be in the services. Many times she arrives discouraged but the hymns and the message always minister to her heart. This past Sunday she was excited when she walked in the church doors. With a smile on her face, she declared, ‘It’s a good day. I’m so happy.’ She told us how she had been at the doctor during the week and had given him a Bible. He was appreciative and expressed great pleasure in the gift. She also made sure to invite him to church. It was a joy to see how God encouraged her heart when she took her eyes off her own problems and cared about someone’s spiritual need.USA MINISTRIES, MONTANA, FLATLAND VALLEY, David and Dee Dee Sterling —They share the follow report: “In early June we traveled to Montana to take over a work which needed a missionary to replace the pastor who had left the work months earlier. After two weeks, we did not believe that this was the work where the Lord wanted us to continue our ministry. A good church has taken responsibility for this work and it continues.
CENTRAL AMERICA, NICARAGUA, Ricardo and Angela Portillo—They share the following report with prayer needs: “We are so thankful for those Bibles and tracts we received back in April! Praise God, after distributing the first half to other national pastors here in Nicaragua, they shared that their church members were thrilled with having their own copies of God’s Word and even had been able to give out John/Romans as they shared the Gospel with others. Last week, at the monthly Pastors’ Meeting, they were so thankful to each receive another few boxes of Bibles. Please pray for much fruit as God’s Word goes out.SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, Dave and Debbie Board—They share the following with prayer needs: “This past week we hosted an evangelistic soccer tournament. Soccer is huge here and we have seen that it provides a great opportunity to build relationships with the lost. Our church entered three teams and our good friends at New Hope Baptist entered one team. Each team had 2–3 lost men playing. Join us in prayer that the prospects living near our village as well as those who played for New Hope will respond to the Gospel with saving faith.WESTERN EUROPE, SCOTLAND, ABERDEEN, Rick and Sarah Demastus—They write the following with prayer needs: “Leading up to our Holiday Bible Club, it seemed like everything was against us. The buses had been vandalized, volunteers were saying they could not help out at the last minute, and a former church attender who did me much evil contacted me asking to meet him. It was a lot to take on, but by God’s grace, we took it a day at a time.FAR EAST, JAPAN, HIROSAKI, James and Rebekah Scott—They share the following: “As many of you already know, our family is getting ready to move to northern Japan to a city call Hirosaki. This city is in the northern prefecture of mainland Japan. Throughout May and June, we searched for housing quite a bit, and so James took a trip to Hirosaki to look for a few places. Although those places did not work out for us, soon after the trip, a house opened up for us and as of August, we will be able to get into the house. Thank you for praying for us during this time.FAR EAST, TAIWAN, TAIPEI CITY, Jon and April Flowers—They share the following: “One evening during camp, two boys were getting ready for lights out and one began to talk with the other about his need to be saved. He asked him if he wanted to pray and ask Jesus into his heart. The boy immediately began to pray and put his faith in Christ. Evidently, the Lord had been working on his heart for some time. We are thankful for him and his faith in Christ. Please pray for him as he grows in Christ. We are thankful for and very proud of the other boy. He has a heart for people, especially his peers, to come to know Christ. Please continue to pray for him as he seeks to do God’s will.CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, SANTO DOMINGO, Jeffri and Pamela Polanco—They share the following report: “We are overjoyed to inform you that our Building Fund has reached 100% of the required funds! The enormity of this accomplishment cannot be expressed in words. It is a testament to God’s gracious provision and the generosity of His people. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to each one of you who prayed, contributed, and inquired about our progress. Our supporters have been invaluable, and we acknowledge that reaching this milestone would not have been possible without your sacrificial giving. We have signed the purchasing contract, and as we proceed with the final steps involving the government and the Land Court, we seek your continued prayers.FAR NORTH, CANADA, TORONTO, Cory and April McTague—They share the following report: “A brief overview of those who were baptized — One grew up in a good mission church in Mexico but struggled with doubts. He got his salvation settled in 2020 but never followed the Lord in baptism until now. A young lady had also been saved many years ago, but had never been baptized. And then there is another who grew up in Colombia with a Catholic background. He got saved this past Easter as well as his wife. He followed the Lord in baptism too. We are praying for his wife to be baptized and his sons to be saved and baptized. They are all faithfully attending church!FAR NORTH, CANADA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, BURNABY, Russell and Lisa Mackay —They share the follow report: “We had an amazing thejohn316story.com outreach and summit on July 6–8. We had 40 volunteers from our church and other area churches deliver approximately 20,000 of thejohn316story.com tracts here in our city. Also, this year we reached out to pastors in some of the largest multi-cultural populations of Canada and the United States and asked them to join us in using this tool to share the Gospel with the millions in their cities. Pastors from Vancouver (our city) Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, New York City, Houston, and Los Angeles joined us in this summit. Fourteen pastors were able to attend in person and 15 joined us via Zoom. It was so encouraging to share with these pastors my burden to use this website to reach people of all languages with the Gospel. Lord willing, we will produce the Spanish presentation this fall. We are very excited about the future of this ministry! The Lord has allowed us to see souls saved as a result of this ministry. To God be the glory!” CARRIBEAN, TURKS AND CAIOS ISLANDS, Paul and Amy Valles—They write: “Since we have combined our Creole and English services together again, we have seen much good come out of it. More people have shown interest in attending; we have had many first time visitors, and several of them continue to come. Also, the overall spirit of our people has greatly improved, and the people have been an encouragement to each other. I still use my Creole in witnessing to the lost and one-on-one teaching the believers.
The Haitians tell me I speak Creole very well; however, I still have difficulty understanding central regional accents. Our island often gets loads of illegal Haitians who are seeking to escape the many problems in Haiti. One of our main ministries here is witnessing to Haitians who only speak Creole. It seems that if they are not practicing voodoo, serving the devil, they think they believe in Jesus and are also serving Jesus, though they do not trust Him as their Savor. Please pray for their eyes to be opened and for them to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved.”
USA MILITARY, SPAIN, ROTA, Michael and DeAnna Staley—“I remember when we started deputation, someone asked how we would handle it when people get orders and leave to return Stateside. We understood this would be a part of our ministry that would be difficult, but it goes hand in hand with military ministry. At the beginning of this month, the one family moved to their next duty assignment in Virginia. They and their family had faithfully attended our services over the last year. Their children would take notes during the service and receive a treat from my wife at the end. I had the privilege of baptizing both children while they were here. We hated to see them leave, but we will be praying for them and what God has for them next. We presented them with a wooden plaque to help them remember their time here at Bethel.EAST AFRICA, MALAWI, Eric and Jessica Curtis—They share the following with praises and prayer requests: “One of the greatest frustrations for missionaries is often paperwork and red tape. So much time seems wasted sitting in offices, but it is a necessary part of missionary life. We are praising the Lord that we are able to get an extension on our temporary residency permits until March 2024! We will be applying for Temporary Employment Permits this September, which will enable us to stay here for the next two years without having to regularly leave the country or go to immigration every six months. We would greatly appreciate your prayers concerning this.USA MINISTRIES, NEW MEXICO, SHEEP SPRINGS, John and April McDaniel—They write the following: “We had VBS last week—the highlight being one girl with tears in her eyes, bowed her head and received Jesus as her Savior. Thanks to First Baptist Church, for their sacrifice and services making it possible to have a great VBS this year! What a blessing!WEST AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh—They share the following report with praises and prayer needs: “The blessings continue to flow abundantly over here. Speaking of coming soon, we have prayed, you have prayed, and he Lord has heard and answered, we have FINALLY been able to purchase some property. This has been an ongoing prayer even before we started services in January. Back in February, the Lord showed us some property that is just about half an acre and He gave us ‘the green light’ to purchase it toward the beginning of July. . . . Now, we are having site plans drawn then we will get them approved, so please continue to pray. We hope to start building within the next few months. The whole church was able to visit the property after the morning service on June 25 for a great time of praise and singing.FAR NORTH, CANADA, NEW BRUNSWICK, Dan and Jennifer Post—They share the following report with praises and prayer requests: “PRAISES — We praise the Lord for sending us more visitors. Last week we had two first-time visitors and both of them are from our little town. The week before a couple came to visit for the first time and we pray they will come again. THANK YOU to those of you who have given toward our building project. The Lord has provided an additional $9,000, which gives us $19,000 toward the cost of the building. Praise the Lord! USA MINISTRIES, NORTH CAROLINA, HENDERSONVILLE, Ed and Barbara O’Brien—They share the following report: “Two years ago we began praying for the Lord to send us a Hispanic pastor who would work with us to see the work grow and eventually to take this church as pastor so we can move on and start another church. We prayed and prayed and waited on the Lord without knowing that the Lord was already working in the hearts of Pastor Albeto Juarez and his wife, Yanet. They were also praying for the Lord to show them where their next assignment would be. The Lord put us together through a mutual pastor friend in April and the Lord has been blessing ever since. This now allows me to concentrate more on discipleship and soul winning. We are also praying that the Lord will call one of the men to preach and that we might train him for the next church plant.WESTERN AFRICA, GAMBIA, Daniel and Sarah Jenkins—They share the following report: “In June, we had the wonderful opportunity to distribute Samaritans Purse gift boxes to children at both of our ministry locations in Busumbala and Latriya. This is always a great avenue to share the Gospel with children and give them gifts that make them light us with joy! Brother L. and Pastor S. headed up this outreach for us and did a great job! More than 80 children heard the Gospel and received a gift box from our church, and praise the Lord two young boys accepted Christ as their Savior!USA MINISTRIES, TEXAS, COMMERCE, James and Andrea Mansfield—They share the following with prayer needs: “We ended the homeschool co-op with an interesting field trip to the Creation Research Institute in Dallas. The proofs of the Bible account of creation imbedded in interactive learning displays were incredible. I just returned from taking our teens to a conference where we had tons of fun, but seeing their spiritual growth has been such an encouragement. For the trip, we had a bake sale where they worked hard to earn all the money for the trip.WESTERN EUROPE, SPAIN, JAEN, Michael and Jennifer Helton—They share the following report: “In June we held an evangelism workshop and had one person come. Please pray that our people will see the need for personal evangelism. We also held a fellowship after the last Sunday service and had a great turnout with several university students. They have come to several activities and even a few Bible studies. We enjoy spending time with them and they always have profound questions about faith and the Word of God.CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, PUERTO RICO, CEIBA, Robbie and Amanda Leonard —They share the following report: “Things seem to have slowed down a bit here as school ended and summer began. . . . In May, our church celebrated its 47th Anniversary. Maranatha started in 1976 as a military church to serve the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station. After the base was closed in 2004, the church continued to faithfully serve the English-speaking population here in Ceiba. The church held a special service May 21 to remember the many years of ministry. We enjoyed seeing the presentation honoring the former pastors and seeing many pictures throughout the years. We ended the day with a special meal and fellowship.SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, Peter and Elisabeth Putney—They share the following report: “In June we had our first VBS at our church in Rionegro. Elizabeth and Cathyjo (a friend from the States is who helping us over the summer) worked countless hours on the games, crafts, decorations, etc. I put together a pretty elaborate cowboy play that we performed over the five nights. While the event was designed to attract lost kids from the city, we really did not know what to expect from the heavily Catholic area (95%) which has made it difficult to reach kids in the past. Despite this, we passed out 3,000 invitations, put up flyers, and brought a bike to give away to the kid who brought the most visitors. While I was honestly expecting to have around 50 kids, we ended up having 221 kids come over the five nights! Only about 25 were from our church. Our highest attendance was 156 and our lowest was 126. Many of the parents also came to watch and they heard the Gospel clearly presented each night. Our new facility gave us room and the logistics to do a big event like this. We invested a lot of time, money, and energy into this VBS, but it was definitely worth it!SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Jeff Gross—He shares the following report with prayer needs: “Our church is continuing to go forward with our first wedding this past month. Two of our founding members got married! They were both saved and baptized under this ministry. We met them through friends at a nearby university about five years ago. The young man was saved and the bride was saved about two years later. Both have since graduated and have been faithfully attending church. It was a real blessing to see these two get saved, grow in the Lord, and then get married.
The wedding turned out to be a great opportunity to witness because the couple both had lost family members. A clear presentation of the Gospel was given at the end of the wedding. It was interesting that most who attended the wedding, even the believers, had never seen a Christian wedding. So it was a new experience for our group. There was an excellent spirit at the wedding that seemed to touch the hearts of both Christians and non-Christians.
PRAYER REQUESTS
• Salvation of M., B., and A.
• Salvation of D.’s sister
• Learning language & culture
• Seeds to take root in hearts”
WEST AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh—They share the following: “This last month has been one of the busiest months we have had since our arrival. We have been able to lead several to the Lord during that time as well as train others to do the same. Praise the Lord for the growth of our converts! I have been teaching about baptism for the past three weeks; our people have been taught the wrong doctrine their whole lives, so it is taking time to undo what they were previously taught. So far, they are receiving and understanding the biblical way of baptism very well. SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, Dan and Becky Bennett—They share the following report: “On April 22, Dan was asked by a Christian deaf lady to make a visit, about two hours away, with her mother that practices spiritism. This woman is in her 90s, and all through her house are idols and statues of various ‘saints.’ She invited us in and happily showed us around as we talked. We finally went into the house to sit and talk. She listened to some of the things Dan said, but she was easily distracted by other things. After about 45 minutes of talking about Jesus being the only way of salvation, she abruptly said, ‘Enough!’ She did not want to hear any more, so Dan paused the conversation. After a while, lunch was served, and the deaf lady urged Dan to start the conversation again. For another 30 minutes Dan went over the Gospel message, but this lady’s heart is very hard. She thanked us for visiting and even invited us back again. Please pray for the salvation of this lady and that the Holy Spirit would soften her heart to the Gospel and that she would trust Jesus as her personal Savior before it is too late.”
WESTERN EUROPE, FRANCE, BOVES, Cary and Susan Abbett—They share the following: “It is vacation time here in France—but not really. School may be out in France, but the Lord’s work is an ongoing privilege.CENTRAL AMERICA, EL SALVADOR, SANTA ANA, Cesar and Christine Cerna —They write, “Over the past month, we have been making an ever greater effort to share the Gospel with our neighbors. Every week we make it a point to knock on as many doors as possible. Without fail, the Lord allows us to witness to people and invite them to our church services. God also continues to allow me to witness to people at the park as my boys are at basketball practice. Please pray for boldness to witness and that we could always be reliant on the Holy Spirit of God to do (John 16:8–11) the work. We realize the uselessness of doing God’s work in our own strength. FAR EAST, JAPAN, KIRINOSAWA, AOMORI, Paul and Sarah Johnson—They share the following: “We may have the opportunity to buy the building we are renting for the church. We are currently renting a former café space, but the café is attached to an apartment complex with 12 units. We have been presented with the opportunity to purchase the entire building, apartments included. This would increase the size of the church building by over three times what we are currently renting. There are still several decisions left to be made, but for the time being, we are asking for your prayers for wisdom that God would make His will known to us. We will keep you updated as this exciting opportunity develops.USA MILITARY, SPAIN, ROTA, MICHAEL AND DEANNA STALEY—They share the following report: “In May we had people coming and going. One couple went back to the States for their wedding and then traveled for their honeymoon. Another young lady returned to her home, Sierra Leone, also to get married. At the end of the month, one of our newest couples, who have been a great blessing since they started attending, also left temporarily—he left on patrol and his wife went back to the States during his deployment. The single men are also still on patrol. A couple that attended while visiting their grandson and another lady in our church also returned back to the States for three months. The good news is, Lord willing, they will all be back!WEST AFRICA, CABO VERDE, MINDELO, Nathan and Tin Fritz—They write, “We have been taking classes with the local version of Creole to help with communication and to distinguish ourselves from the myriad of tourists that visit from Europe. We miss so many of our friends in Praia, but God has graciously put some good folks in our lives here in Mindelo.SOUTH AFRICA, WHITE RIVER, Richard and Laura Badgett—They share the following report: “One man is a new attendee at Life-Line Baptist Church. He also loves to attend the Calvary Baptist Church in Msholozi. He comes from a different church background but after we shared our salvation testimony with one another we quickly became friends. He and I are going through the A—Z Christian mentoring program, and he is so thankful for the truths that we often take for granted. He is a ‘straight line thinker’ and so with the help of our teacher, the Holy Spirit, he is embracing a closer walk and growing more and more in love with his Savior. He has a burden to teach people stewardship principles and has the skills to help people put them into practice. It isn’t baby steps to put God first in your life and I believe he is doing that and can teach others to do so as well. Please pray for him.SOUTH AMERICA, PERU, Lee and Eva Johnson—They give the following report: “In the morning of January 18, I was severely injured on my right hand with a hand grinder and using a grinder blade. The result of this injury and after going into required surgery, I lost my index finger. Both my middle and ring finger were scheduled for amputation, but by the grace of God and He using my wife convinced the doctors not to amputate them. After being in the clinic for seven days, Eva and I left for the States and arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, on the 25th and I was seen by the doctors on the 26th in the early morning. WESTERN EUROPE, ESTONIA, TALLINN, Rob and Angela Willoughby—They share the following report: “How can replaying ancient battles between Old Testament era armies be used to reach the lost? I have recently had some interesting conversations with locals in the war gaming and miniatures community. The first two people I met mentioned that they are not believers but have had a positive contact with Christians doing outreach in the past. Another young man from Latvia launched into a discussion about truth and the existence of God when he found out I was a pastor. It is interesting what happens when you put your hobbies and interests into God’s service.CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, BARBADOS, ST. PHILIP, Robert and Rebecca Smith—They share the following report: “We have often found it difficult to get folks to respond to something spiritual, so we thought maybe at best we might have 30 ladies attend. But God had other plans! Our church building was filled with ladies who were eager to hear the teaching of the Word of God. From 9:30 AM to 3 PM, 70 ladies from all over the island came to listen to Mrs. Missy Cogley and Mrs. Jean Scheaffer from First Baptist Church in Hammond teach God’s Word!SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, SAN PEDRO DE LA PAZ, Nate and Christine Saint —They share the following report: “As we bring our project in San Pedro de la Paz to a close, God has opened the door for another project, this time in Canete, and I again am writing to request your prayers and help. As you know, we have been laboring in Canete for almost four years. Celso built a 500 square foot church building on his property, about ten minutes outside of the city itself, and we visited his neighbors to invite them to the services. A few have come to the services, but we have not seen the results that we became accustomed to seeing in that city.CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, SANTO DIMINGO, Jeffri and Pamela Polanco—They share the following: “Upon our return from the States on the last Sunday of May, we celebrated Mother’s Day here in the Dominican. We had a first-time visitor that morning. The lady had received an invitation to church in the past and said the Lord had prompted her to attend church. We look forward to meeting with her once again in the upcoming days to share the Gospel. Please join us in prayer for this lady as the Holy Spirit works on her heart.”SOUTH CENTRAL AFRICA, BOTSWANA, Mike and Cindy Haley—They share some exciting news, “As most know, we have the opportunity to buy a 10-acre fully developed property called African Casa that is home to a lodge with commercial kitchen, conference center, five beautiful chalets, a bush camp, a small house, a cottage, sports facilities and so much more. . . . We have renamed the property The Grace Oasis (where thirsty souls find Living Water), and we will utilize the property for a Bible college campus, Christian camp, Marriage Enrichment Center, lodging for visiting missions teams, and a host of other ministry outreach opportunities. The property valued at over $600,000 and we are purchasing it for a final negotiated price of $445,000! We had to have a down payment deposit of $80,000 by June 30. The Lord provided miraculously—and I do mean miraculously and over $130,000 was given in just over a month. We have signed the purchase agreement and ordered the funds transferred to pay the deposit. To complete the project WE MUST RAISE THE REMAINING $310,000 IN 90 DAYS! The final payment must be in the bank by September 30. It is a mountain to climb! We will climb on our knees and I ask you who have been so gracious to us and faithful to support this work to pray with us! Time is of the essence, not only to make the payments but also that we are scheduled to leave for a four month furlough in August. Would you specifically pray for us that the Lord would so move that the fund will be secured in a short time so that we can focus on everything else that has to be done in the coming days?”
SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, Dave and Debbie Board—They share the following report and prayer needs. “Recently, we enjoyed a special service of celebration here at Pacific Baptist of Cambodia. We heard testimonies of lives changed by the Gospel, listened to special music by various groups in the church, preached God’s Word, took up a special offering to build a new auditorium for one of our satellite churches, participated in dedicating two babies to the Lord, announced the kick-off date for a 5th church plant in Takeo province, and baptized 26 new believers! It was a packed service but a very blessed time!WESTERN EUROPE, SCOTLAND, ABERDEEN, Rick and Sarah Demastus—They share the following report with prayer needs: “At the beginning of May, Sarah took a group of ladies to a conference in Wales. It was such an encouragement for them to be around other Christian women surrendered to God’s will. Just before they left, we had a baptismal service for a lady in our church. The rain was pouring that morning, but God cleared the skies for the occasion. Unfortunately, we had to reschedule the baptism on the 7th due to sickness, but we are making plans to proceed in the upcoming weeks.
It was King Charles’ coronation recently and like most Scots, they did not care much for it. Instead, we passed out Gospel tracts that weekend asking people if they had heard about THE KING. Many showed interest until they found out I was referring to Jesus Christ. Regardless, it was a blessed day getting the Gospel out in Aberdeen.
We have finally carved out a time in our busy schedules to have a Men’s Fellowship. We enjoyed a BBQ in 70-degree weather, following continuous rain the previous week.
Since our last update, we have received $65,000 from our supporting churches for the purchase of a church building, which is very good. This is moving us closer to our goal of $200,000 needed for the South Saint Nicholas Church in Kincoth.
PRAYER REQUESTS
• For Sarah’s outreach with the book study, church ladies, and co-ops
• For Open Door Baptist Church and its growth
• For new small groups to start in different homes
• Permanent facility for our church — South St. Nicholas Church will be for sale in 2023–2024.”
FAR EAST, TAIWAN, TAIPEI CITY, Jon and April Flowers—They write, “We would like to introduce you to a lady who started attending our church in December of last year. She came from another church in Taiwan, which like most churches here is heavily influenced by the Charismatic Movement. She was just like many who have come to our church over the years—unsaved and very confused when presented with the truth of the Gospel.CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, GRENADA, Joseph and Donna Childers—They share the following with prayer requests: “Life continues to move along at a rapid pace. In our ministry, we have seen several salvation decisions and two baby dedications, and we have had a young man to graduate from Bible college! For our last school building, God has provided more than 50% of the needed funds already and an additional amount promised.WESTERN AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh—They share the following: “During this last month, we have continued to place our emphasis on soul winning. We have also been discipling our converts on Sunday and Wednesday nights as well as having them go out witnessing with us. The last three weeks in our outreach, we have had the privilege to see nine souls who placed their faith in Jesus. And recently, we have found a little pool that we can use for baptism, so I will be teaching on that subject very soon. Please pray that they will understand the meaning of baptism and that we will be able to have our first baptismal service soon.USA MINISTRIES, NEW YORK, THE BRONX, Alan and Sabrina Davis—They share the following report: “Recently, Sabrina and I took the subway over to Queens, New York, to see a lady. Her daughter had called Sabrina asking if we would come to visit her. Many years ago, the lady lived in the Bronx, and I had the privilege of baptizing her. SOUTH AMERICA, GUYANA, Noel and Charlene Shrivnauth—They share the following: “We are rejoicing that 128 people have been saved and 9 baptized in the past two months. With many things changing worldwide, it is becoming more difficult to get people to follow the Lord in baptism.SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN, Peter and Elisabeth Putney—They share the following with prayer needs: “We recently finished our Missions Conference and it was wonderful! We had eight missionaries and there was a spirit of excitement and a desire to reach the world with the Gospel. . . . I tell our church that the missions conference is the most important event on our calendar every year and I believe God has blessed our church’s participation in the Great Commission.
CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, MEXICO CITY, Ryan and Sarah Case—They share the following; “The young people of our church went to a youth conference in March taking some teens who had become interested in our church. Several of these received Christ at this conference and have been coming faithfully, excited at what God is doing in their lives.EAST AFRICA, KENYA, Erica Bohman—She shares the following report: “The Lord has especially been working and blessing in the new church plant in Kisumu over the past two months. Hope Baptist Church is now officially a church! We recently held a special Charter Service. Since our present rental building was too small to hold the crowd expected, we rented an outdoor tent. It was a joy to see it filled and many visitors present. Even some pastors and church members from the Shelbys’ different ministries in the surrounding areas and the group from the Smiths’ church in the United States came together to support the start of this new church. The Lord blessed with one baptized and 16 people signed the charter.USA MILITARY MINISTRIES, JAPAN, TOKYO, Danny and Haruna McKittrick—They share the following: “A single airman found himself thousands of miles from home at his first duty assignment here at Yokota Air Base. Some friends invited him to church and he began coming. God was dealing with his heart and several times after the services he hung around to talk with me or some other men in the church. On March 5, he sat in my office and we opened the Scriptures and shared the Gospel. That time he bowed his head and called on the Lord to save him. He followed the Lord in baptism the next Sunday. This young man is representative of many other young servicemen who are trying to find their way in a sin-cursed world. Would you please pray that he would continue to follow the Lord in growing in grace?FAR NORTH, CANADA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, BURNBY, Russell and Lisa Mackay—They share the following; “We had six people come to Christ since our last prayer letter. A middle-aged man has been attending our evening service for about a year. He had been witnessed to several times and just a few weeks ago, following the service, I challenged him to accept Christ and he did. We have seen a difference in this man’s life and it is such a blessing to observe his ‘new life in Christ.’SOUTHEAST ASIA, PHILIPINES, CEBU CITY, Frank and Japhia Denisi—They share the following: “The Bible tells us that when the faith of the sending churches is increased, it will allow us as the missionaries to preach the Gospel in the regions beyond you. What a beautiful partnership—it is God’s plan for world missions! Our mission church in Mindanao saw two more rounds of baptisms, began the start of our first youth camp, and had a missions conference! The new members also chipped in and were able to buy a vehicle for the church. My heart is thrilled as a missionary when I see the church becoming indigenous and self-supporting. The people are growing in the Lord and we just give all honor and thanks to Him! My church is being pastored by my dad, It is located at the northwest corner of Mindanao at Nasipit. Thank you for partnering with us in this worthy endeavor! [He] set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many will see it and fear and shall trust on the LORD Psalm 40:2, 3). WESTERN EUROPE, SPAIN, MADRID (PARLA), Julio and Andrea Velasquez—They share the following report: “A man and his family arrived from Venezuela three months ago. They were saved in Venezuela years ago and when they arrived here they immediately started attending our church. Then he and his wife and their teenage son joined our church. They have a real desire to serve God and reach the lost here in our city.SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Jeff Gross—He writes, “Our church is now going regularly to the local university to witness and hand out Gospel tracts. Our goal is to start a Bible study on campus. Several of our church members are graduates of the university and have a burden for the students. We have been able to sit and talk to many students about the Bible and salvation. We have also had two students visit our church. This month our church printing ministry printed two sets of Chick tracts. We printed 5,000 ‘Charlie’s Ant’ tracts and 5,000 tracts of ‘The Only Way.’ We also had a teenaged boy named Ice to receive Christ as his personal Savior.CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, CAYO, BELMOPAN, Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer—They share the following with prayer needs: “In March, our youth had a wonderful fellowship with the other churches at our quarterly youth rally. All five of our guys completed a Bible memory and workshop challenge (along with 15 others) in preparation for the rally. It is exciting to see young people encouraging one another to give God the glory by studying the Bible together. In July, the youth groups will be doing the first combined two-night campout. Please pray for it to be a time of spiritual enrichment and growth for these young people.SOUTH CENTRAL AFRIA, BOTSWANA, Mike and Cindy Haley — They share the following: “THANK YOU FOR GIVING — Already, we have received $2,500 needed to fund the Partner with a Preacher (PWP) church planting initiative for the 1st year. Our men are so encouraged! This past week I met with the chief of Ganane (Ha-bah-nay) and secured the blessing to start the work there. This past Saturday a group from our church passed out Setswana New Testaments to over 500 homes in a village call Pilane (Pee-lah-nay). Again, there were those who beseeched us to start a church in their village, and one man even led one of the members to a plot of land and said, ‘Here, you can have this land. It is free for the church. Build a church here.’ I do not want to sound like a broken record but Matthew 9:37 is so true. The harvest TRULY is plenteous, but the laborers are few. PLEASE—STOP AND PRAY, EVEN NOW, AND ASK GOD TO SEND MORE MISSIONARIES TO BOTSWANA and even more so to lead us to those here who will answer the call to serve the Lord and be trained in the work of the Gospel. We have also received $600 towards the container of Bibles that we will ship, Lord willing, later this year. It is a great start! Please continue to pray as the Lord provides for these to great endeavors!”
WESTERN EUROPE, BELGIUM, Brent and Jen Hoffman — They share the following report: “We finished filling in at Ghent for the Haleys as they came back from their furlough. The last Sunday we were there, two girls were saved. That was a blessing and a nice way to end our time there. Ghent Baptist Church is a very good church with many wonderful people and we are very blessed to know them. We are going to make sure that Ghent Baptist and Calvary Baptist stay close in fellowship as both grow, Lord willing.SOUTHEAST ASIA, AUSTRALIA, QUEENSLAND, NORTH LAKES, Joe and Melissa Marshall — They share the following with prayer needs: “In Queensland, there is currently a housing shortage combined with rising interest rates and home values. This has caused rent to increase greatly. After nine years of living in the same home, we just received word that we need to move. Please pray that we can find a new place to live.”USA MINISTRIES, NORTH CAROLINA, HENDERSONVILLE, Ed and Barbara O’Brien — They share the following: “Over the past month we have seen 12 adults and teenagers come to receive Christ as their personal Savior. Please pray that the Lord will work in their hearts to have a sincere desire to start attending church and grow in the Lord. One of the biggest problems we have in this area is the desire of the Hispanic people to work, work, and work. If there were eight days in a week, they would work all of them.
WESTERN AFRICA, CABO VERDE, SAO VICENTE, MINDELO, Nathan and Christina Fritz — They share the following report: “Upon our arrival, I assumed the role of pastor of Templo Baptista em Mindelo. This is the work started 16 years ago by Brother Decarvalho. We meet in a sort of ‘storefront’ that we rent for about $150 a month. The space is about 700 square feet divided into two rooms and a small bathroom. Most Sundays we have about 15 people—our family is 7 of these. There are a few families that for various reasons have walked away from church here. We are seeking to graciously reach out to these people, so pray with us that the Lord would do a work in their hearts that only He can do.CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, EDO, HUIXQUILUCAN, SAN FERNANDO, Nick and Patty Sutmaier — They share the following of a recent convert: “He was one of these guys who grew up where the rules of the street were his schoolmaster. A rough life to say the least! He would raise his hand to be saved after each service and we would deal with him each time. For some people who had done so many bad things in their lives and have never experienced love, it takes a while for it to sink in that they are really forgiven of their past, present, and future sins and it is under the blood of Jesus. When I talked to him about baptism, he realized he needed to obey the Lord now that he was saved and without a doubt knew it. After he was baptized, he started coming to church every Sunday and I talked to him about discipleship. He said he wanted to learn more Bible and grow and be more faithful to the Lord. What a joy it is to sit down with him one-on-one and show him how to find and teach him the books of the Bible!”
CENTRAL EUROPE, MOLDOVA, SOROCA, David and Stephanie Gross — They write, “For nine weeks (middle of January to middle of March) we held weekly Bible studies in the village of Visoca with the group that someone had been bringing to our Soroca services. Being with a mix of believers and unbelievers who are seeking truth, the studies included topics like salvation, Bible study, and prayer. We enjoyed the time getting to know them better and hearing their questions during the studies. Please pray for them to take the next step of faith from where they are now.EAST AFRICA, KENYA, Erica Bohman — She shares the following report: “ ‘You told me to ask you if I had questions about salvation, so here I am. . . .’ one little girl told me tagging along with me after Bible club. This opened a wonderful conversation about salvation. After a few more weeks of questions and Bible Club, she put her trust in the Lord herself at home. Her simple straightforward faith is precious as she learns about the new life in Christ.CENTRAL AMERICA, PANAMA, BALBOA, Franklin and Brenda Booth — They share the following: “Right at the beginning of January, we participated in Panama’s annual Fires of Evangelism Conference with over 500 attending each night. We were blessed to have a good group from both of our works with various decisions made in their lives personally. Four young people from the Victory Baptist Church surrendered their lives to full-time Christian service! CENTRAL AMERICA, NICARAGUA, Ricardo and Angela Portillo — They share the following report: “God has been blessing and giving us much fruit. Last week, our church celebrated Friend Sunday. Praise God, we had 276 in attendance with over 100 first-time visitors; 13 precious souls received Christ as Savior that day, and we have so far seen another 3 souls receive Christ during follow up!SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Chris and Becca Reed — They write, “The mission team at Nong Phur Baptist with help from the mission team from Nongloam Baptist completed the children’s ministry building. The building was used for the first time on March 12. After English classes on Saturday and Bible classes on Sunday, the people gathered to enjoy a meal under the canopy. Please continue to pray for fruit in this ministry and health for the team in Nong Phur.WEST AFRICA, GHANA, TEMA, Fredrick and Antoinette Kearney — They share the following report with prayer needs, “We returned from our furlough to find the regular dedicated, faithful, and committed members of the church still present and serving in their various roles and responsibilities. We have jumped right into the work by visiting the shut-ins, sick, and bereaved, and resuming school chapel, soul winning and discipleship. In our absence, the church started the year off with our annual missions conference. Pastor MacDouglass Ampadu, a missionary we support, preached and challenged the church members with the theme “Who will Go?” Upon our return, I preached and encouraged the members to be faithful in their vows and to give to Faith Promise. We saw an increase in their commitment to give for missions!WESTERN EUROPE, SCOTLAND, ABERDEEN, Rick and Sarah Demastus — They share the following report with prayer needs: “Be in prayer for those who got saved over the past month. Some are ready to be baptized, and some have started discipleship, while others are a bit reluctant. Praying for wisdom. We started off March with a visiting missionary family from Italy. They presented their ministry to our church and we anticipate helping financially with their new church plant in Foggia this October.
I was not sure what to expect when we started our building project, but God is blessing so much. Since our last prayer letter, we have raised an additional $35,000 for the project.
We have a spring fundraiser at the end of the month and another is scheduled in May. We are that much closer to reaching our goal of $200.000 for the South Street Nicholas Church in Kincoth.
PRAYER REQUESTS
• Souls to be saved, baptized, and discipled
• Sarah’s outreach with the book study, church ladies and co-ops
• Open Door Baptist Church and its growth
• Our family as we reach out to our neighbors and witness to them”
WEST AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh — They share the following: “Ministry life here in Ghana has continued to be busy, but we thank the Lord for the ability He gives to serve Him. Our church is now just under two months old at the time of this writing. We have continued to see an increase in attendance every week, but more importantly, people are getting saved and they are growing spiritually. In our first three weeks, our family was the only people present during our evening service, but now we have anywhere from five to fifteen people on any given evening service.CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, DANGRIGA, John and Robin Harris — They share the following with prayer needs: “God has been blessing our ministry here with our Thursday evening service growing each week. Our Sundays have been filled as well. We have two people in discipleship; both have passed level one and are almost ready to pass level two. We are also about to begin supporting our first missionary. This is such a big step for our church. SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, Peter and Zirlene Doolittle — They share the following with prayer needs: “We had a WONDERFUL Family Camp this year. As we prayed and prepared for this camp, we had no idea how wonderfully God would work in the lives to those who came.CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, SANTO DIMINGO, Jeffri and Pamela Polanco — They share the following: “We have some exciting news to share with you about one of our friends. We have shared the Gospel with him several times, and he has always been a faithful attendee. We have been praying for him for a while, but he had not yet professed Christ as his Lord and Savior. Recently, he had a near-death experience, and while he was in the hospital, he told his wife not to worry because if he passed, he would be with the Lord. We thank God for his salvation and for sparing his life; he is now recovering at home. It is such a blessing to witness his life’s transformation. We can already see the fruit of his salvation through his zeal for the things of the Lord. Please join us in prayer for his continued growth and recovery.USA MILITARY, GERMANY, BELLINGEN, Philip and Karen Pilalas — They share the following: “During these cold months, besides all our regular services, we have been able to have a Teen Christmas Party, an Adult Christmas Party, many potlucks, and game nights. We also had two Parent’s Night Out. That is when we both watch all the children from church and allow the parents to have a few hours free.USA MINISTRIES, TEXAS, COMMERCE, James and Andrea Mansfield — They write the following: “Please excuse the tardiness of this letter. We have been ‘in the trenches!’ We had a great Children’s Christmas program with adult gift exchange and a Christmas meal and a packed auditorium. We can fit more in the auditorium using chairs and it is conducive to rearranging for meals after the service. However, many found the padded pews more comfortable than chairs, so we purchased small cushion covers and cut the old pew cushions to fit. Three of our boys have picked up guitar in the last year that has been a blessing for specials at church. They have been learning from DVDs we bought for them; however, they needed an in-person instructor. A new lady started attending our church as well as the Ladies Bible Study on Tuesday. She volunteered to teach them each Tuesday, and she trades her skill for eggs! She has taught for years and even traveled the States in a Bluegrass band in her younger days. God’s provision is so amazing.FAR NORTH, CANADA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, BURNSBY, Russell and Lisa Mackay — They share the following report: “The year 2023 is off to a great start here! We were very excited when our church had our quarterly ‘Intercessors War Room,’ and Tyler reported that we have had ten people come to Christ since September. We have had visitors at church almost every Sunday this year. We started providing an interpreter for our Mandarin-speaking visitors and this has brought several new Chinese families to our church. One is a faithful man in a church from China and he sits in a room and interprets my sermons in Mandarin to those special people. It is really an amazing new ministry God has allowed us to begin. We have several coming each week who are not saved. Please pray for God to work in the hearts of these as well as their children.CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, PUERTO RICO, Robbie and Amanda Leonard — They share the following: “February was Friend and Family month. Pastor focused messages this month on the home and family. During the month, we were challenged to invite friends or family without a home church to join us on this special day. We were blessed to have Pastor Chad Pape and his wife, Cynthia, with us as our special speaker. We also had a delicious catered dinner following the service. Praise the Lord we had one family of seven join us! Please pray as some of the children show interest in coming again!SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Daniel and Lisa Files — They share the following report: “There is a missionary here in Thailand who has started a Missionary Kid Camp. Once a year, missionary kids from all over Southeast Asia will come for a week of camp. We were asked to assist with the juniors. It was a blessing for our son to get to go and be around other America kids his age. Many of these kids were born and grew up on the mission field and have never had the opportunity to go to a church camp. Some of them came and we could tell they were discouraged and not very happy. By the end of the week, they were having the time of their lives. Remember to pray for your missionary kids.SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, SANTIAGO, Clifton and Tiffany Booth — They write, “God is doing some awesome things here in Chile. Not only have we seen great advances with the building program but also we have seen great advances spiritually. One is a teenager and the niece of one of our church families. She is currently living with the family because she was removed from her home by the courts due to abuse and placed in the care of the family in our church. She visited our church a few times but claimed that she did not have faith in God and so there was no need to attend. However, she did continue to attend our youth meetings and would occasionally visit during special events. We have prayed for her frequently knowing that God can open the hardest heart. She visited during our special Christmas service where I specifically preached the Gospel message and apparently a seed was planted. A little over a week later, her aunt sent me a text saying, ‘My niece just received Christ as her Savior!’ It seems that after the Christmas service, she began asking questions at home and finally said that she was ready to put her faith in Jesus. Not only is that awesome but also immediately afterwards she told her aunt, ‘I need to start calling people and telling them that I got saved.’ And that is what she did, which reminded me of the woman at the well as recorded in John 4 who left her water pot and went to town to tell everyone that she had met the Savior. Please pray for her and her new walk with the Lord.
SOUTHEAST ASIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, SUCCESS, Gary and Sherrie Lester — They share the following: “The last two months have been exciting for us with lots going on. We have seen two new families start to attend our church. One has moved to this area and the other came to us seeking a church that was more biblically aligned with them. Both families are a true blessing and an encouragement to us. We have also seen three people in the church get married, although one is a couple that both attend our church, the other one we will probably lose when she starts attending her husband’s church.CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, CAYO, BELMORPAN, Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer — They share the following report with prayer needs: “Thank you for praying for us over the last two months. We have seen God’s Spirit working in the hearts and lives of many souls. Several people in our church have been doing a one-year Bible reading plan this year. One of our young men recently approached me after church and excitedly shared how surprised and thrilled he was to know that rainbows are a reminder of God’s promise to never destroy the world with a flood again. His excitement was a good reminder not to lose the joy of discovery in God’s Word. Every part of God’s Word is special and profitable.EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, KAMPALA, James and Cheryl Pridgen — They share the following: “So far this year we have seen 53 people saved and four baptized in the church in Kampala. This does not include the ministries in other areas of the country and Rwanda. We have also started another church about three hours from the capital city. Two of our graduates from the Bible college are working at this new church plant. Please continue to pray as we train more laborers for the harvest.SOUTH AFRICA, MOZAMBIQUE, Taylor and Lorin Norris — They share the following: “The rainy season had changed the roads drastically here. This reminded us of everyone who gave to help us get our vehicle and we would like to thank you again. I just went out to the village church and there were a few portions of the road that I prayed the whole stretch that I would not get stuck; God answered. Once I arrived, we had a great time together worshipping the Lord and preaching the Word.USA MINISTRIES, NEW YORK, THE BRONX, Alan and Sabrina Davis — They share the following: “One day a lady visited our inner-city work here in the Bronx. While I was preaching and teaching God’s Word, it was evident that God was working in her heart. She certainly enjoyed it and has been coming ever since. She said she got saved and is now awaiting baptism along with two others. Please pray for her.”SOUTH AMERICA, PERU, LIMA, Carolyn Pace (wife of the late Tom Pace) —
She writes, “My plans to come to the States in February were changed when my sister went Home to be with the Lord in December. I returned at the end of December for the funeral and to be with my nieces and nephew. Since then, I have been able to visit family and friends in Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan, and New Mexico. I will leave this week to visit supporting churches in Texas and beyond.
Despite the political uncertainty in Peru, God is still working. He is using senior citizens in this area. Meet one of the ladies. ‘I’ve been a Christian and served in the church for many years,’ she told me. ‘But this is the first time I’ve had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with lost people. I am so happy that God has given me this opportunity at my age.’ This lady thought that as a senior citizen herself God could not use her. She thought that she should retire and let the younger generation do evangelism.
Thank you for your prayer support at this time of adjustment without Tom. The Lord has been good in every way, and I am thankful. I hope to see many of you before returning to Peru in June.”
WESTERN EUROPE, FRANCE, CHARLEVILLE-MEZIERES, Danny and Janice Flowers — They give the following report with prayer needs: “When we moved to the Ardennes in 2005, we mostly interacted with French people because our area was not opened for mass immigration. However, over the last five years, the demographics have completely changed, and we now have the privilege of meeting and interacting with people of many different nationalities on a continual basis.
CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, ANTIGUA, ST. JOHN’S, Nathan and Renee Owens — “In our prior letters I have explained the situation with our new STL equipment, which has been required by the government of Antigua. We were able to return the first order of equipment for a full refund and order a different brand of equipment, which should be arriving soon. Please pray for the installation of this new brand of STL equipment that it will work satisfactorily and as we go through the duty-free application process again. We are also still working with the generator company’s electrician to fix the small electrical issue with the new generator. Please pray that we can determine and fix this issue shortly.FAR NORTH, CANADA, ONTARIO, ETOBICOKE, Cory and April McTague — They share the following report: “We are learning more and more that our neighborhood is responsive during special seasons. For the second year, we held our outdoor Christmas caroling event. Our volunteers come several hours early and created a Christmas Village on the front steps of our Town Hall. The event is called, ‘Cookies, Cocoa & Caroling.’ We passed out 10, 000 flyers a week before. As darkness fell, the visitors began to come. We had over 100 people in attendance with only about 15 being our regular attendees. There was a clear Gospel presentation given and Christmas books were given out to all the children. We also had some unsaved volunteers with whom I was able to share the Gospel. We are praying to see lasting fruit from this event. One man began attending regularly as a result of the Christmas event.USA MINISTRIES, CALIFORNIA, SANTA CLARA, Ken and Nancy Lalman — They share the following: “At the end of Chinese New Year, which was February 4, a few of us were able to go downtown San Francisco and pass out Gospel tracts in Chinatown. It was a rainy day and the people did not seem as happy as one would expect them to be at a celebration. However, we were able to give out hundreds of tracts and pray that God will use the message of the Gospel to bring people to Him. I was thankful that no one tried to stop us. There were, however, quite a few Mormons passing out their literature.SOUTHEAST ASIA, NEW ZEALAND, DUNEDIN, Bob and Diana Rutta — They share the following: “Our year started off with a whirlwind of activity as we had our annual Family Camp for the South Island churches. We rent out a camp and have a week of preaching, fellowship, and fun. Each church takes a part in the work of preaching, providing special music, cooking, cleanup, and activities. We started these camps over 20 years ago and this has been a vital tool that the Lord used to help our churches grow. Our churches are a great distances apart, but this allows our people to see that there are others who believe as we do. In those early years, we could have about 30–40 people. As I made plans, for this year’s camp, I was praying for 120–130 in attendance. That would have matched our highest attendance of the past. I guess I was lacking in faith. The Lord gave us so much more than we could ever imagine as we had over 200 in attendance each day! We packed every dorm room in the facility that we were renting and we had others in tents and campers. At the end of the camp, the pastors always meet together to compare ideas, make suggestions, and appoint the camp director for the next year. I have been blessed by being asked to direct the camp again next year. That will definitely be a challenged, but I honestly love it!”
SOUTH AMERICA, SURINAME, Mark and Emily Mariner — They write, “We continue to work at Victory Baptist Church and after the Christmas break we have resumed Bible Clubs at two schools and the government children’s center for neglected children. We see fruit each week through these ministries. Recently, several more church members have begun volunteering to help assist with these ministries. This has been a tremendous blessing as we endeavor to witness with each child either one-on-one or in pairs. More soul winners and workers to assist the teacher have helped greatly! Last week we were able to see 18 children profess Christ in one club, thanks to having a group of nine soul winners! 
FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, RIZAL, TAYTAY, Tom and Jen Behman — They share the following with a special prayer need: “Just four weeks ago, we started a new Bible Club. The Barangay Captain (kind of similar to a small town mayor) graciously allowed us to use a covered tent every Saturday morning. This is a huge blessing because it keeps us and the kids out of the sun. We are averaging around 30 children already. There are even some parents who attend with the children and have expressed their thankfulness for what we do and teach to the children. This is yet another great way to point people to Christ and show His love. Many of the children received Christ last Saturday and we plan to continue guiding them and discipling them each week.” EAST AFRICA, NIGERIA, PORT HARCOURT, David and Rose Maskey — They share the following: “While we were on furlough last year, one of the faithful men and Bible institute graduates went to his village of Bankana (about 45 minutes southwest of Port Harcourt) and started a church there. So far, they have been averaging 25 in attendance. Recently, they brought some people to be baptized in our church since they do not have facilities there. This makes our TENTH church plant now, and we praise the Lord for that! The progress on our ELEVENTH church plant (in Onne) is also moving forward. Right now, we are in the process of getting all the government approvals and permits to start the building project and it usually take several weeks. Our goal is to get the new church started by the end of the year when the building is complete. Please pray for God’s help and good results with these new churches.SOUTHEAST ASIA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, BIBLE DISTRIBUTION PROJECT, Alan and Donna Brooks — They share the following report and prayer needs: “The theme this year for BIMI is ‘Achieving the Impossible . . . Because God Can!’ When we first started the PNG Bible Project, many thought it could not be done! I must confess I had times of doubt myself, but God has shown Himself strong in so many ways. The simple fact is that 1,100,000 Bible have been shipped into the country and 960,000 of those Bibles have been personally handed out to the students and teachers across the country. Only God’s providential grace could achieve that work. Satan has thrown many obstacles in our way: COVID, robberies, personal health issues, and even the death of dear friends and co-workers. Through all the trials, God’s Word has continued to go forth. . . . We truly need God’s people to hold us up in prayer to the Lord to make the impossible—possible. We have 140,000 Bibles to still distribute. I thank God for all those who have been involved in this project and am excited that Missionary Mickey Schrimshire, who has battled several health issues, is determined to return to PNG to aid in this work. Please pray that we will finish strong!”
CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, MEXICO CITY, Jorge and Aimee Rodriguez — They share the following with prayer requests: “We are grateful that in the challenges (disappointments, let downs, and frustrations) of searching the community for many months for a place for us to live and also large enough for the church, God opened doors that we did not consider to be possible and met our needs. Not only we sinners’ hearts willing but also the financial need was met to acquire the property for the church, and there is a house on the property for us to live in. We are overwhelmed and encouraged with God’s provision!
FAR EAST, JAPAN, NAGASAKI, SASEBO-SHI, Fred and Roma Rojas — They share the following review of their work in the past year: “What a perfect opportunity to thank God for you all and for the many blessings upon all of us throughout the past year in Sasebo, Japan! By His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, below are just a few of the praises to God for all He has done: WEST AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh — They write, “We had a wonderful first Christmas here in Ghana. It was much different than what we were used to. We had gotten used to snow around Christmas or at the very least cold weather, but we had over 90 degrees that day. Nevertheless, it was still a wonderful day. I had the opportunity to preach the Christmas Day service for our good preacher friend, Rexford Aning. We also enjoyed a time of fellowship with their congregation after the service before we went home to open our presents. It was overwhelming to also reflect on the year and see how much our lives had changed in 2022. Everything from Ezekiel’s birth to our transition to Ghana.CENTRAL EUROPE, CROATIA, Ron and Rachel Winkler — They share the following: “If you remember from previous prayer letters, we had two large containers of Bibles delivered to us over the past two years. Bibles are handed out on the streets and in the markets. We also spread the news all over Croatia that we will send a Bible to anyone who would like to have one. Brother Sam (a missionary who works with us) heads up the Bible Distribution. He has had tremendous results offering free Bibles through Facebook. We were not prepared, however, for all the requests for Bibles in December. Our family helped package and mail thousands of Bibles. Then just a few days before Christmas another container of Bibles was delivered. The shipment included 40,000 Ukrainian New Testaments. Those have already been delivered to a missionary in Hungary who will distribute them. SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, MATO GROSSO, CUIABA & VARZEA GRANDE, Peter and Zirlene Doolittle — They share the following: “The church has been growing, especially through the children’s ministry with many coming and bringing their friends. We are also conducting multiple personal Bible studies with unsaved and with discipleship with the newly saved. Please pray for the spiritual growth of these ‘babes in the Faith’ who come from backgrounds of Pentecostalism and prosperity-preaching churches and that they will understand the true teaching of God’s Word.SOUTH AMERICA, VENEZUELA, BARQUISIMETO, Carlos and Susan Arce — They share the following: “Praise the Lord! We had a meeting with almost all of the pastors that have come out of our church. . . . My wife also had a meeting with about 35 pastors’ wives who were able to come. They had a special meal where we shared many gifts of towels, sheets, clothes, shoes, and food that many of you have sent us to be a blessing to the people. It was a sensational day, and we ended up with a devotional, sharing from God’s Word, that my wife gave. At the end, we had a time of questions and answers about the struggles and needs that they have pertaining to the work in their churches. It was great to see how God helped each one of these.
One of the ladies came up to me at the end and said to me, ‘Brother Arce, I came today with a heavy heart and with deep despair and stress for the work of the church. But I feel renewed with a new desire and strength to continue to see how God helped each one of them.’ While the ladies were in their meeting, Carlos was in his office with a time of counseling and helping the pastors who came. Many were making plans for the year 2023 and sharing with me.
May God help me to fulfill the dream of my heart—that God continues to start more churches and we can reach each state in Venezuela.”
USA MILITARY, ITALY, ROTA, Michael and DeAnna Staley — They share the following: “In mid-December a preacher reached out to let us know that a young lady from his church would be moving to Rota, Spain, on her next assignment. A few weeks passed, and Naomi walked in during the Sunday school hour. She has been attending faithfully ever since. Pray for Naomi as she settles here and in her new job.EAST AFRICA, KENYA, Erica Bohman — She shares the following report: “The children’s ministry at Hope Baptist Church is continuing to grow both spiritually and numerically. We greatly rejoice that six of our young people were saved at youth camp, and we are working with them through discipleship lessons as they grow in the Lord. Even the young people have habits to break, ideas from false teaching to correct, and to a lesser extent, a past to get behind them. God is working, though, and we rejoice in the new life they can enjoy for all the rest of their days.WESTERN EUROPE, FINLAND, Andrew and Nicole Wippler — They share the following report with prayer needs: “Our outreach in December was a different experience. When we delivered baked goods to the neighbor in our temporary Airbnb residence in April, it was received with a good response. However, we received mixed reactions when doing the same thing in our new apartment block. Some were thankful, and others wanted to give us money for the baked goods. Canvassing efforts were a little uneventful, too. Nevertheless, experience is a good teacher.
USA MINISTRIES, WASHINGTON, LYNNWOOD, Perry and Barbara Gibson — They share the following report: “Besides 60 Japanese, 40 other international students, mostly from the closed countries of China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, attended talk time in 2022!FAR EAST, JAPAN, James and Rebekah Scott — They share the following with prayer needs: “Our Kids English class continued throughout the month, and praise the Lord for many new children that attended. We have two particular families with whom we have been able to build a good relationship. They attend every Kids English class. It has been wonderful seeing what God is doing through this class. At the end of November, we had our annual Christmas Wreath making activity at the church. We had a number of ladies who came out for the activity, including many visitors. This is one of the most anticipated events for our ladies in the church and they really enjoyed it!SOUTH AMERICA, ARGENTINA, Larry and Alma Owens — They share the following with prayer needs: “Argentina is suffering with some of the worse inflation in the world. Not even winning the World Cup can alleviate the hard times people are going through. The finances at the church have also been affected.CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, MEXICO CITY, Josue & Rebekah Ortiz — They share the following report: “In October, we announced to the church that we will be sending out and helping two church planters in 2023. One of these church planters will start a church about two hours north of Mexico City and the other will be about two hours east of the city. In this same month, we were able to begin a renovation project on the piece of land that we want to purchase for our church. We have not been able to legally buy the land yet, but the owners have given access to it. We are so thankful for this because we were running out of space in our other building! This took about a month and a half and we were able to move into it on December 11. This new location will accommodate about 170 people. Currently, we are having two services with a combined over 300 in attendance. Most probably, we will be going back to three services per Sunday in February. We are thankful for several people who were baptized in the past few months as the Lord continues to add to His church!”
SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN, Peter and Elisabeth Putney — They share the following report: “In December we had a new overhang and sliding gate installed over the front patio of the church. This allows us to have better security and park our church van at the church. In addition, we are making a lot of progress in the back of the church. A retention wall was need to be able to level the ground and build a nice new fence around the property. After this, we will add a back covered patio, a grass lawn, a storage building for Bibles and tracts, and playground equipment for the kids.CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, DANGRIGA, John and Robin Harris — They share the following: “In our last prayer letter, we asked that you pray for more men. Well, one who has been coming on and off since October is lost and I shared the Gospel with him. He did not reject it; only, he could not understand it. He is a friend of a lady who was recently saved and baptized! I am hoping to have the opportunity to talk to him one- on-one about salvation. Please pray for Mike’s salvation!CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, GRENADA, ST. ANDREWS, GREENVILLE, Coco Chan — She shares the following report: “God’s Word changes lives! A couple of weeks ago I went grocery shopping at the capital city. While I struggled separating two shopping carts, someone gave me a hand. I looked up to thank him and noticed it was a young man I met at the juvenile center. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior sometime last year after I explained the plan of salvation. Since then, he was very interested in knowing more about the Lord, and he memorized numerous Bible verses.SOUTH AMERICA, PERU, CHICLAYO, Lee and Eva Johnson — They share the following: “Around the first of October, we once again find Peru at the election tables. This is always a problem for us missionaries, pastors, and other church planters, because we are not allowed to have services during the morning hours and are only free in the evening after 6 PM. So we abide by their rules, even though it is hard to understand.SOUTH AMERICA, GUYANA, Noel and Charlene Shrivnauth — They share the following: “In September and October in our church ministries, we saw 106 saved and 6 baptized. . . . Our mid-October Faith Promise Missions Conference went well with promise commitments far above what was expected. In these days of inflation and rising costs of living, this is most remarkable.
Our online Bible college, Lone Star Bible College—Guyana, is doing well....Dr. Shelton Smith and the Sword of the Lord sent us over a dozen books for each of our students in the college. This is a treasure trove of good reading. In itself, it is a Bible college education to be had in the reading of these good books.”
USA MINISTRIES, TEXAS, COMMERCE, James and Andrea Mansfield — They share the following report: We lost a couple families for various reasons. However, God has brought several new families and the growth of the faithful ones is encouraging! A couple has decided to follow the Lord in the matter of tithing and have seen numerous financial miracles as a result (including their insurance reinstated so he can seek medical help). A man for whom we have been praying for years (and to be honest had given up hope) showed up one Sunday. Two weeks later, he walked the aisle for salvation and I was able to not only lead him to the Lord but also baptize him. The change in his life is almost uncanny!”
EAST AFRICA, ZAMBIA, Bryan and Amanda Collins — They share the following: “It has been very exciting to see all that God has done in our ministry over the past year. Yet, there are many places that are void of the Gospel. This has been evident as we have ministered locally and at the lake. Islam has been growing rapidly around the world and Zambia has been no exception. Even in the remote areas of the lake, Islam has a presence. It has been a blessing to see the Gospel spread in that area and churches planted. Discipleship is a key part of the ministry as we have trained young men in the Word of God. They can teach, preach, and evangelize and train locally and at our churches. The Bible college continues to do well. Please pray for the students as they learn and that God would call some of them to the ministry.”
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, Sao Caetano do Sul, Bryan and Rebekah Johnson — They give the following report; “We now have one family and seven individuals who have begun discipleship with us this last month. We are so pleased to have so many people who are choosing to take the next step in spiritual growth. We have also had a recent surge in visitors. Praise the Lord for the salvation of one we met while we were out shopping and for the salvation of another in the last two weeks!WEST AFRICA, NIGERIA, PORT HARCOURT, David and Rose Maskey — They share the following: “Recently, our deaf ministry in the main church had a special promotion and we had 102 deaf attending in that Sunday morning service with 14 of them receiving Christ as Savior! They also had a deaf choir that was a real blessing to everyone. Our deaf workers have done a very good job of reaching the deaf here for Christ.
CENTRAL EUROPE, ROMANIA & MALAWI, Marguerite Gentry — She writes the following: “This past summer we had camp as we usually do and had 700 professions of faith! This is because all of you have supported the ministry faithfully; you all have a part in these who were saved. I praise the Lord for the work of the Holy Spirit both in your giving and in these young people being saved.CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES GRENADA, Joseph and Donna Childers — They share the following report with prayer needs: “You may remember that last year, one of Donna’s relatives went to study in the U.K. leaving her son, to live with us while she was away. We have prayed fervently for his salvation and God has answered that request! With just a few weeks left with us before his mother’s return, after our daily family prayer time one evening, he asked if he could go to heaven. As I explained, I realized that my son Ryan was listening also and they both asked a lot of questions. Ryan is much nearer to understanding than we had previously thought, but that night, Donna’s nephew asked Jesus to save him. Praise God for His love and mercy are working!CENTRAL AMERICA, EL SALVADOR, SANTA ANA, Caesar and Christine Cerna — They write, “Thank you for your prayers as we go out to witness to people here in Santa Ana. Just recently, Caesar had the privilege of witnessing to a man who said that he used to attend an evangelical church for several years. The sad part is that he did not have a clear testimony of being born again. Caesar thanked the Lord that he at least, listened to him as he shared Christ with him. It is even sadder to know that these kinds of stories are not uncommon in El Salvador. Please continue to pray the Lord will give us boldness and wisdom in dealing with people who have a Christian background but are not born again.FAR NORTH, CANADA, TORONTO, ETOBICOKE, Cory and April McTague — They share the following: “Several weeks ago, a regular attendee asked for a meeting so I could discuss some questions her longtime fiancée had concerning God. As he settled into the seat in my office, I asked him what was on his mind. He replied, ‘I have never needed God before. I have always believed in God, but I know that something is missing in my life. Could you help me with that?’ After about an hour and a half of slowly going through the Gospel, he bowed his head and accepted Christ as his Savior. He has been faithfully attending church ever since and he and his fiancée have been discussing marriage! God is good and it is such an encouragement to see His miracle work being done in lives!SOUTHEAST ASIA, PHILIPPINES, SAMAR, Layne and Nelia Jones — They share the following report: “The radio station needs a new transformer and a new generator for the radio only so we can have electricity direct to it. We cannot hook up the new 3,000-watt transmitter without more power into the radio station. The cost for both the transformer and generator will be quite a bit. Pray for this need.SOUTHEAST ASIA, NEW ZEALAND, DUNEDIN, Bob and Diana Rutta —They share the following: “As we look back over 2022, we are overcome with the realization of how great that our Lord has been to us! God is so good! This year we watched several families in our church move away looking for work. These are people in whom we have invested our hearts, and we love them dearly. That is never easy to face; however, our attendance has remained consistent as we have reached new people and added them to the church.WESTERN EUROPE, BELGIUM, GHENT, Brent and Jen Hoffman — They write, “After filling in at Gent for a couple of weeks, I finally was able to settle into the church where we will be working. Jen and the kids have been there a few months and have made some good friends already. The church is wonderful and the people have made us feel welcomed. We are looking forward to working with them as we transition over. There is a family in the church who were recently saved and who have a couple of teenage children that are not saved yet. Both teens have struck up friendships with Gabby and Joab and we hope this will open up the doors for influencing then. Please pray for their salvations. There is a young single mom that Jen happened to buy some stuff from in the marketplace. She mentioned that she had visited the church a few times months ago but has not been back. She is not saved but really has taken a liking to the family. She even came over for Thanksgiving. On December 20, she returned to the States. Please pray that someone in the U.S. will reach out to her with the Gospel.”
SOUTH AMERICA, PERU, LIMA, Carolyn Pace — She writes, “It has been a month since the Lord called Tom home. I am very thankful for His presence, His faithfulness, and for His people. SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, Dave and Debbie Board — They share the following: “Please join us in praying for the PrekPnou district of Phnom Penh. It is located 20 minutes from our main church and is in great need of a church that is doctrinally sound. Every Friday, Debbie and I go door knocking there and we are slowly gathering prospects who are willing to listen to the Gospel. In January, we are hoping to find a building that we can rent in order to begin a small group as well as a Children’s Ministry.WEST AFRICA, TOGO, KARA, Randy and Jeanette Alderman — They write, “The village of Lidio is in an isolated spot off the beaten path, seemingly unimportant to all but those who reside within its confines. The roads leading to it are not easily traveled. As soon as the rains slowed a bit a few weeks ago, I visited the new church plant to teach and encourage those who are turning from fetish worship to serve the Living God! In spite of its obscurity, the Gospel is lighting the former darkness through the work of a layman teacher who also pastors two other churches! The number of attendees will never be large in man’s eyes, but what an impact for eternity this dear brother is making!USA MILITARY MINISTRIES, JAPAN, NAGASAKI, Fred and Roma Rojas —They give the follow report: “Because of your faithful prayers and support, God has helped us accomplish numerous things both in our personal lives as well as in the church. FAR NORTH, BRITISH COLUMBIA, BURNABY, Russell and Lisa Mackay — They share the following report: “God has abundantly blessed and protected our church here during this difficult time. . . . Lisa and I have been able to enjoy many ministry opportunities since returning. In August, we helped with our Junior Camp and then drove our teens to a Teen Camp and helped there, too. Lisa led one of our teens, Bethel, to the Lord on Thursday night of the camp. In October, we had our church’s Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner on a much smaller scale due to limited seating in our current building. We had around 20 unsaved people attend and hear the Gospel! We are currently preparing for our Christmas outreach. We plan to go to a very busy public transit station on December 17 and sing Christmas songs and pass out Gospel literature with an invitation to our church. We are praying for 35 of our church people to go and be the choir for this outreach. Could you pray for God to bless this?
One of our neighbors came to see us on a Saturday in September because his marriage had fallen apart. He was broken hearted and seeking help. We visited with him, tried to comfort him, and pointed him to the Lord. He came to church that Sunday and prayed to accept Christ. We have prayed for him and his family for almost 18 years. We have reached out to him in many ways over these years. We were thrilled to see him come to church and accept Christ. Could you pray for him to follow the Lord in Believer’s Baptism, grow in the Lord, and for his family to be saved?”
USA MINISTRIES, NEW YORK, THE BRONX, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Alan and Sabrina Davis —They share the following: “Our work here in the Bronx is still meeting in our apartment as of this moment. Although the circumstances in the inner city of New York have been very discouraging at times, we have not quit or given up. Our focus is not on the arm of the flesh but on the mighty power of God. We have a remnant of people who are still coming; however, many have already left us because the way was difficult, but if we get a facility worth having, we can get more people.”
WEST AFRICA, GHANA, SUNYANI, Daniel and Raquel Akuokoh — They write, “In the last few weeks, during our times of soul winning, the Lord allowed us to see three people saved. Raquel was able to meet with one for discipleship this week, but something came up just as they began. Although that did not go as planned, a mother and her friend were there and began to ask Raquel some questions about the Bible and Christianity. There was a bit of language barrier, so the mother asked Raquel to bring me next time to answer her questions. The mother’s friend is interested in joining our Bible study and has made her home available as a meeting place. Please pray that there will be an opportunity to present her with the Gospel and for God to work on her heart so that she will receive it.”
EAST AFRICA, KENYA, NAIROBI, William and Tammy Brouwer — They share the following report: “In September and October, the third objective of our ministry here (training national pastors and leaders) was emphasized. Our church here in Nairobi hosted a three-day conference for pastors and church leaders. There were over 400 total attendees with over 200 of these being pastors from churches throughout Kenya and Tanzania. The theme of the main preaching sessions was on the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. In addition to the main services, there were breakout sessions every afternoon dealing with such topics as church music, preparing expository sermons, knowing your identity in Christ, a biblical perspective on suffering, and other relevant workshops. At the end of the conference, each attendee was given several books for help in the ministry and for personal enrichment. The aim of the conference was to equip and encourage pastors and ministry leaders.CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, CAYO, BELMOPAN. Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer — They share the following with prayer needs: “In September, Elizabeth was invited to teach a Sunday school seminar for a church in the Mennonite community. They also invited Jonathan to teach a marriage seminar in early October. Some of the younger generation of Mennonites here have started separating from the strict Mennonite orders and are turning to Christ alone for salvation. Please pray for these people as they grow in the Lord.
At the end of the month, friends visited us from the States who spent a week of fellowship and service with us. They helped with cleaning and painting, and they participated in our quarterly Baptist youth rally with over 50 teens from eight different churches attending. The teens in our church look forward to these rallies. WESTERN EUROPE, SPAIN, JAEN, Michael and Jen Helton — They share the following: “We have enjoyed several outreach opportunities with the young people and college students we have grown to know. Baeza is a pueblo very close to us which has a special night each year during which they turn off all the lights and use candles to light up the city. We had an enjoyable time with a small group touring the streets and ancient churches and buildings.SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, RIONEGRO, ANTIOQUIA, Peter and Elisabeth Putney — They share the following with prayer requests: “Recently, Peter had the privilege of leading a man to the Lord after our church service. He had been attending our church with his wife for about six months. The incredible part of this story is that we had been praying for his salvation ever since his wife started coming to church seven years ago! How important it is to have patience in the work of the Lord.SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN, Mark and Katie Gerosin — They share the following with prayer requests: “REACHING — We have churchwide soul-winning twice each week. We are getting out a lot of material and continuing to reach many with the Gospel. More exciting than all of that is watching God build our evangelistic core with young people. . . . SENDING — We had the opportunity to have our annual missions conference. We brought in a special speaker and prayed that God would help us send more to missions. . . . We are taking on a new missionary in Venezuela and raising our monthly support of the others. TEACHING — Katie was happy to present her top three Sunday school students with an Excellency Award. They had been studying the life of Paul and everything he endured getting the Gospel to unbelievers. . . . GROWING — Pastor Fredy is working hard. Not only are he and his wife working full-time jobs they also are also starting a new church plant. . . . Pray that God gives him strength as he labors the fields and that the fruit springs up and that the church continues to grow.USA MILITARY, JAPAN, FUSSA, Daniel and Haruna McKittrick — They share the following report: “In our previous letter, we asked you to pray for a particular man. We had visited in his home and talked with him about the Lord and he promised to come to church. Well, he DID make good on that promise and has continued coming! On October 20, he and his wife came to the church for some counsel and I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with him again. This time he bowed his head and prayed to receive Jesus as his personal Savior. Amen right there! He is scheduled to be baptized, so thank you for praying for him and his wife and their continued spiritual growth.
WESTERN AFRICA, COTE d’IVOIRE, BINGERVILLE, Karie Ferguson — She shares the following: “These past two months have had some firsts, some good and some not so good. First, good! I started reading Bible chapters to a Christian sister and the young girl who is staying with her. Both are illiterate, though the girl is just now learning to read and write. The girl had a rough beginning in life, but she is now living with her sister and loves children’s class at church. Using the Abeka picture book, I have read through Genesis chapter three. These are opportunities to teach her truths from God’s Word without much distraction, as she is behind in her age. I am praying that God’s Word would rest in her heart. Pray for her salvation.WESTERN EUROPE, SPAIN, PARLA (MADRID), Julio and Andrea Velasquez — They share the following report: “One week before we left Spain to come on furlough, we had the privilege of baptizing five new believers in the church. We pray now for spiritual growth as they receive discipleship classes.FAR EAST, JAPAN, OKINAWA, Dan and Heidi Gardner — They share the following report: “October is an exciting month for us! JAPAN IS OPEN TO VISTORS! Japan is, finally, officially relaxing COVID guidelines. How does that affect us? Well, this helps the people to relax a bit in where they will go and visit. We are so thankful and humbled by the prayers and faithful support of you all. We are so excited to say that we have had four visitors in the last week of October! One is a 25 year-old man that just moved to our area. He went to college in America and was encouraged by a Christian friend here to look for a like-minded church to attend. Another is an older Japanese lady who has a Catholic background. Others are a sweet older couple who also just moved to our area and have been looking for a good church to attend. They found the church because of a tract they got in their mailbox! Several pastors have told us that passing out tracts do not work. I am so thankful that over the years, we have never stopped because of that. Please pray for these new visitors that we have had that they will continue to come and trust the Lord as their Savior!”
CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, Jeremy and Michelle Blanz — They share the following report with prayer needs: “Last month went by quickly as we continued our work in soul-winning. We have had a little extra help from two other men. One elderly man heard the Gospel and called upon the Lord for salvation. We will continue to visit him, encouraging him in the Lord. . . . We had many new visitors this last month and several returning. Unfortunately, our regular attendees have not been as regular as normal. Several have faced sicknesses and other problems, but we trust to see them back soon. USOUTHEAST ASIA, AUSTRALIA, NORTH LAKES, QLD, Joe and Melissa Marshall —They share the follow report with prayer requests: “On September 18 we had our Friend Day and Baptism Sunday. It was exciting to see our church invite people that they know to this service to hear the Gospel. In the morning service, we had 12 first-time visitors. After the service, we had around 50 people come back to our house for a BBQ lunch and the baptismal service where one was baptized. Please pray for her as she continues in discipleship studies. Also, pray for our visitors to respond to the Gospel.CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Santo Domingo, Jeffri and Pamela Polanco —They share the following report: “During the first week of August, we had a mission group from the States to help us with our VBS and Youth Conference. The Lord blessed us tremendously during that week. During VBS, we saw record attendance for each day. Day One, we had 145; Day Two, 165; Day Three, 194 children. This was not counting the 50+ teens and adults. VBS brought many professions of faith along with many teens. They were also preached to in a separate room. IN ADDITION to that, we were able to take the missions group out daily and we saw many profess that they had placed their trust in Christ. We are so thankful for what the Lord did that week, but we are also thankful for the great enthusiasm from all the church members as they become involved with the events.”SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Jeff Gross —He shares the following with prayer needs: “This month we held a Bible conference with family relationships as our focus. Satan has done a tremendous work in changing family structure and family values. It is normal in Thailand for families to leave their children and their care with relatives or even with children’s homes. As a result, many children are not being brought up with the love and nurture they require. Even when they get saved, there is a moral foundation that is lacking. So, one of our aims is to teach men and women character and virtue; i.e., add to your faith virtue; and to faith knowledge. The goal is to build strong Biblical family principles.
In addition, we visited a young man who was saved about four years ago, but he has been out of church for a couple of years. This year he was in a motorcycle accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. He taught me a great spiritual lesson that really touched my heart. He said that his legs were the cost he had to pay to Satan for walking in Satan’s way. I was surprised at his spiritual insight into the cause. He did say he was glad of one thing: he now sees Jesus in a whole new light. He is not bitter at all. Thank you for your prayers and support.
PRAYER REQUESTS
• Salvation of M., T., B., M.
• Salvation of D.’s sister
• Learning the language and culture
• Churches in Thailand
• Seeds to take root in hearts
SOUTH AMERICA, VENEZUELA, LARA, BARQUISIMETO, Carlos and Susan Arce —They share the following report: “What a great surprise we received when we saw the first person that was saved when we arrived in Venezuela in 1983! This lady and her mother were the first people who were baptized in our ministry. She is a medical doctor today in Miami. They arrived in our church and spent a few weeks with us. She is still a great soul winner and faithful to the Lord. As I visited some of the new churches to preach, she decided to go with us. What a blessing she was to the people! Helping them as a medical doctor at the end of the services.CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, GRENADA, ST. ANDREWS, GRENVILLE, Coco Chan —She writes the following: “K. C. and his two older brothers have been in my Sunday school class for about a year. They have a difficult home life and often wonder if they would have food when they get home. K.C. came to me one day and unwrapped the scarf carefully. There was this beautiful, sweet sugar apple that someone gave him a few days ago. He had it until it was ripe and soft and brought it to me. How sweet! Every bite I took of the sugar apple, I thanked God for this sweet little boy. Please pray for God to work out the situation in K. C.’s home and to help him catch up in school. He came to our school this year and is behind academically. Pray also for his salvation. He once raised his hand in Sunday school for salvation, but he has not made a decision yet.USA MILITARY, SPAIN, ROTA, Michael and DeAnna Staley —They share the following report: “Since our last letter, we had our two highest attended services. The first was when we baptized a couple. Their family invited four families to come to the baptismal service. We also had another family visiting that day as well. With the baptism following the service, it was a great day.SOUTH AFRICA, HILLCREST, Jeff Demarest —He shares the following report and prayer needs: “Ministry is always exciting! God always presents opportunities to glorify Him when we listen and follow His guidance. One of the highlights of ministry is the Kidz Klub we hold a Kwanyuswa. The children learn from the Bible the godly principles to live by. They can receive a Bible after they say their memory verses. The children also enjoy a craft they can take home. On Sunday, we may have 15 in attendance and 45 the following Sunday, yet there is a great need in this area that is rife with drugs and alcohol. Pray for these children that they will hide God’s Word in their hearts.WESTERN EUROPE, SCOTLAND, ABERDEEN, Rick and Sarah Demastus —They share the following with prayer needs: “Anniversary Sunday was on October 9 and it was amazing! We passed out 1,000 flyers in Kincoth and invited families whom we have been reaching for the last few years. We encouraged our church families to invite neighbors and friends also. We wanted to double our attendance, which is around 45 each Sunday, and we hit 89 in attendance that day! Many heard the Gospel for the first time. We pray the visits to these homes will provide us an opportunity to reach those who are lost and need to be saved.USA MILITARY, GERMANY, BEILINGEN, Philip and Karen Pilalas —They share the following: “If you are not familiar with the dynamics of a military church overseas, they usually have big nurseries full of babies and toddlers, then many lower elementary children, and sometimes there are no teens at all or just one or two. That is not the case with us now. Our biggest children’s age group is elementary age children, and then we have 12 faithful teens and only four babies in our ministry. As always, we stay flexible with our rooms and volunteers needed for children’s ministries and are praising the Lord for all the teens we have now.EAST AFRICA, KENYA, KISUMU, Luke and Tonya Shelby —They share the following: “The outreach for Bible Study has been going very well in several areas. We have a small rented building that started on October 30. The Smiths have been a huge blessing in helping us in areas where we could not because of travels, college schedules, and ministries in other cities. Many have been saved and discipled in the past few months and we are meeting with around 30 adults in three different locations on a weekly basis.CENTRAL AMERICA, EL SALVADOR, SANTA ANA, Cesar and Christine Cerna —They give the following report: “The last four months have been a challenge as I have walked around my neighborhood (five times per week) with the purpose of sharing Christ. By doing this, I can witness to an average of about seven people each week. The Lord is opening doors for me to make friends with many neighbors. I make it a point to write down their names and to pray for them every day. The list has almost 100 names and it keeps growing. Just this past week I was able to witness to one of the security guards who works close to my house. Please pray that the Lord will continue to give me the boldness to approach people and that He brings conviction to these lost souls.”
EAST AFRICA, MOZAMBIQUE, CHIPATA, Taylor and Lorin Norris —They share the following: “Hope Baptist Church is doing great as we see the Lord do fantastic things here in Chipata! We have had from 3-10 visitors every Sunday for the last month. As a result of these visitors, many of them have made professions of faith after we made follow-up appointments. All these folks are coming because of our going out three days a week for around four hours at a time, knocking on doors, or standing on street corners passing our Gospel tracts.FAR NORTH, GREENLAND, Gage and Aleah Gilbert —They write, “We recently switched to a new Danish teacher, and we are really enjoying his style of teaching. His classes are a lot of fun, and he makes one feel at ease. Please pray that he will be receptive to hear the Gospel. We have already had some conversations with him about what we believe, and we would like to continue to have opportunities to share the Truth with him. Also, we have really seen much progress in our abilities in recent days and are thankful for God’s continued grace and strength in our lives through this past year of our language-learning partner. 
CARIBBEAN, PUERTO RICO, Jerry and Liz Harmon —They share the following report: “Soon after our return to Puerto Rico, a lady visited our church. She came forward during that service and said she needed to learn how to pray. Jerry was able to lead her to the Lord. She returned the following Sunday and Jerry talked to her about baptism. She was baptized the following Sunday and has been growing mightily in the Lord. She reads her Bible every day and has made statements how her previous church was not preaching what the Bible says. We were excited to see her growth and Liz has been discipling her weekly now. She recently has begun to bring her father (a Spanish-speaking retired Catholic priest) to church. He says he enjoys it. We have begun to witness to him, and Jerry plans to sit down with him and discuss salvation more clearly. Pray that he will be saved.”
SOUTH AMERICA, PERU, CHICLAYO, Lee and Eva Johnson —They share the following report and prayer requests: “We had a setback in that the cylinder head of our truck gave out and now the truck is in the shop, waiting for parts to arrive in order to get the vehicle up and running again.SOUTHEAST ASIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, SUCCESS, Gary and Sherrie Lester —They share the following with prayer needs: “As sickness has been overwhelming in the community and at times has limited our meetings, we are glad that we have been able to have services for the majority of this last quarter. Over the last three weeks, we have looked into the first three Gospels and seen how our Lord is pictured as King in Matthew, Suffering Servant in Mark, and the Son of Man in Luke. Now we are able to look at Christ as the Son of God in the book of John.WESTERN EUROPE, ESTONIA, PEETRI, Rob and Angela Willoughby —They share the following: “The Peetri Fair, based on last’s year success, was focused on attracting children to our booth. Angela prepared dozens of packets containing some Gospel literature, candy, and an invitation to our weekly Bible Club. Box drinks and games completed our child-drawing presentation. The ladder golf and cornhole games were a huge asset to us that day. Many adults stopped by to ask about the cornhole game! One Estonian man in particular knew more about cornhole because he knew the boards and beanbags were not of competition quality. Praise the Lord for every conversation and every Gospel witness!
We used our booth and yard games again at the Café Day, and again our cornhole games drew much attention. While the neighborhood was full of family cafes selling coffee, desserts, and gourmet hamburgers, we offered free American-style desserts and Christian literature. With these outreach events behind us, we look forward to the fall and harvest seasons. Please pray for growth in our weekly Bible Club and for opportunities to witness.”
CENTRAL AMERICA, HONDURAS, EL PROGRESO, Matt and Dallita Goins —They share the following: “Since arriving in Honduras 20 years ago, God has done exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ever imagine. We praise the Lord for the power of the Gospel, the support team we have, the wonderful teammates we have had the privilege to work with, the two churches planted, the hundreds of souls saved and baptized, and our ministry partnership that enhance the reach of our local church. We are BLESSED!USA MILITARY MINISTRIES, GERMANY, Joseph and Laura Passaro —They share the following report: “One of the important ministries concerning a Military work is single soldiers. I mentioned some time back about praying for more single soldiers to come. Your prayers are being answered, but the sad thought is that they come for a time and then seem to just not be interested in God’s Word or standing out as a Christian with their soldier friends. The barracks are a tough place for Christian soldiers with Satan’s presence everywhere. That is why I become burdened for these young people. Please do not stop praying even though we see them drop off from church. We do have one single soldier who has been coming faithfully for over a year now and is growing in the Word of God.”
USA MINISTRIES, NEW MEXICO, SHEEPSPRINGS, John and April McDaniel —They share the following with prayer requests: “We have been blessed to see the return of some of our church members whom we have not seen since 2020. J’s family started coming to church again and he got saved. We had 41 in attendance recently on a Sunday morning.EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, NTINDA, Dan and Amie Dwire —They share the following report with praises and prayer needs: “Much of the growth of Faith Baptist Church has been the faithful families God is bringing to our church. As a result, our children’s ministry for 2– 12-year-olds continues to grow as well though we added another room to our rented space back in December that has become too small for our Children’s ministry. In August, our landlord gave us permission to break out the bricks of a partial wall that separated our children’s space from another small room. This additional room increased our children’s space capacity by 50% and two Sundays later that was maxed out as well. We look forward to God’s time and provision of our new church building to be constructed. Please keep praying with us as we await approvals from the town council and as we negotiate the construction contract.”FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, SAMAR, Layne and Nelia Jones —They share the following report with many prayer needs: “Prayer works if we work at praying! We have been praying for more professions of faith in the services. Last Sunday, there were 31 professions of faith! We had a mother and her daughter come who were saved through the street-preaching ministry. In 1985, the population of the Philippines was 68 million; today, there are 110 million.SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, SANTIAGO, Clifton and Tiffany Booth —They share an exciting report: “God has once again proven how awesome He is. In our last letter, we explained where the land purchase process was. Well, I am thrilled to tell you that the process is officially complete! We now own the land. All paper work has been done and the purchase was approved by the Chilean government. We are now working with our architect to draw up the plans for the building. Hopefully, within a few days, the plans will be submitted to the local municipality for approval. It should take about 4–6 weeks for review and approval but once we submit the plans, we are then allowed to begin construction. Many issues have come up which need prayer! So please pray that all these problems will be solved and they do not need finances to complete the preparation for the building!
USA MINISTRIES TO SPANISH, NORTH CAROLINA, HENDERSONVILLE, Ed and Barbara O’Brien —They share the following: “We are excited about the growth we are seeing in our people. The Lord gave us the opportunity to have missionary Richar Flores and his family with us several weeks ago. They are on deputation and going to the country of Argentina, South America. Richar and I had the opportunity to go soul winning together and we had 3 adults and 7 teens receive Christ as their Savior. What was so encouraging is that our people came to me and asked if we could support them as our missionaries. It was truly exciting to see this growth in our people and to see them have a heart for missions. We voted in total agreement to support them as our first missionaries.”
USA MINISTRIES, ITALY, AVIANO, Ron and Barb Parrott —They share the following: “We finally made it to Italy to minister at Calvary Baptist Church here in Aviano, Italy. Thank God! Italy finally dropped all their restrictions and opened the door for us to be able to take the church here until the new missionary pastor arrives in December.FAR EAST, JAPAN, KOBE, James and Rebekah Scott —They share the following with prayer needs: “A few months back, I mentioned a lady who was our first visitor here in Japan back in 2018. At the end of our furlough, she accepted Christ and it has been a joy to see her growing in the Lord. When she accepted Christ, her husband mentioned that he would like to go to church sometime with her. Recently, he has been attending with her each Sunday. Please pray that he will also accept Christ very soon.
In addition, a member of our church invited a friend of hers to church. Eventually, she made a decision to attend church and after attending for a few weeks, she accepted Christ! This encouraged us as well as this church member. But the blessing does not stop here! Just as Philip said to Bartholomew, ‘Come and see,’ she in turn invited her husband to come and hear about Jesus and he has attended faithfully every Sunday. Praise the Lord for how He has been working in our church! Please continue to pray for our church here in Japan.”
WESTERN EUROPE, SCOTLAND, ABERDEEN, Rick and Sarah Demastus —They share the following with prayer needs: “We finished the month of August with a Youth Activity in ‘Jump In.’ It was great to see so many new teens come out and the Gospel was clearly presented yet again for them.WEST AFRICA, TOGO, KARA, Randy and Jeanette Alderman —They share the following: “Last month we graduated several from our Bible institute students and sent them out to fill their new roles in ministry. One is joining with Pastor Soapa in the Dapaong area to help strengthen and further develop that area in church planting endeavors. He especially has a heart for the Sableanga church where he was saved, but with his wonderful servant’s heart, he will also be a blessing in that region of the country.SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, ANTIOQIA, RIONEGRO, Peter and Elisabeth Putney —They share the following report: “As many of you know, we have been in the middle of a gigantic building project for the last four months. I am very happy to report that we moved into our new building on September 18. . . . While the building project will take several more months to complete, we will have the auditorium and kids classes done. Our church has now moved in and turned over the building that we were currently renting to the end of September.CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, GRENADA, Joseph and Donna Childers —They share the following with prayer requests: “This year the Christian school had 20 children registered for our Preschool through Grade 4. More than half of these children do not attend any church, so we have a prime opportunity to reach them with the Gospel. Please pray for each of the students, for four teachers (three nationals, and our co-worker Sister Coco Chan), and for God’s continued hand upon the school aspect of the ministry. Pray also as we plan for one last expansion next summer, which will allow us to influence these children daily from preschool to secondary school.SOUTHEAST ASIA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA BIBLE COORDINATOR, Alan and Donna Brooks —They share the following report and prayer needs: “I received the following message from the pastor of Exodus Baptist Church in Mt. Hagen, ‘Praise the Lord, a soul saved today through the phone! A student from Tari town called and I led her to the Lord and she accepted Christ with tears and was so happy that she got saved. I spent two hours to answer some of her questions and she understood so well. Pray for this young lady that she will grow in the Lord through the Word. Brother Alan Brooks, thanks for bringing the Bibles into the country. God bless you.’ WEST AFRICA, CȎTE D’IVOIRE, BINGERVILLE, Robert and Rebekah Mach —They share the following: “On the first day of June, the Bingerville church was able to ordain three new deacons, giving the church a total of six. As a part of the Sunday morning service, we went through a time of doctrinal and practical questioning of these candidates elected by the church body. These men were able to demonstrate good Scriptural knowledge and understanding. After the questioning, the three previous deacons and I prayed over these three new deacons individually dedicating them for this service.
We had the privilege of baptizing six converts into the membership of the Bingerville church in the morning service, three men and three women ranging from 18 to 56 years old. It was a pleasure to exercise this church ordinance. In the evening, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper. The six deacons assisted me in directing this service and church ordinance.
This church has already reached autonomy in many different aspects. Once our construction is complete and our future pastor has completed his training, it will be terrific to officially grant autonomy to this church.”
FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, Layne and Nelia Jones —They share the following report and prayer needs: “During the students’ soul winning last Monday, one of the students was able to lead two families to Christ who had been listening to 104.5 FM Christian radio. I witnessed to a lady who works at the Department of Trade and Industry. She had been listening to our radio station. She got saved! Many more are listening to the radio. Pray we can get the 3,000-watt transmitter hooked up so we can reach many more with the Gospel.
There have been nine new students who have moved into the dorms for Bible college. Please pray for more laborers for this great harvest field. Yesterday was our Alumni Meeting. Please pray for all the graduate pastors’ needs. We appreciate so much those who are helping our graduates. We would appreciate your prayers for our World Missions Conference August 15-18.”
SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Jeff Gross —He shares the following with prayer needs: “This year the Lord has opened many opportunities for us to present the Gospel to the lost, and we have seen several saved. A high school boy was invited to church. He stayed with us for about three weeks during school break. Our young men witnessed to him and after about one week he accepted Christ as his Savior. He showed much interest in learning the Bible as well. He is now living at a home for students and going to high school. He has already expressed a desire to come and study with us. Two of his friends are living with us and going to high school while learning the Bible.SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, TAUBATE, Ed and Maribel Johnson —They share the following: “Our focus has always been the Great Commission—to preach the Gospel, baptize converts, and disciple God’s people. On Saturday afternoons during our church-wide evangelism time, we have around ten teens and fifteen adult soul winners, who go out door-to-door or visiting on a regular basis. Our one-on-one discipleship program continues to grow and we currently have approximately 15 adults meeting regularly with their disciples.CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, CAYO, Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer —They share the following report: “In May I took our teens to Amazing Grace Baptist Church in another district for a youth rally. Our youth enjoyed seeing familiar faces and making new friends during the preaching and activities. One of our young men started taking sermon notes because of the influence of the rally. He and I go over his notes together and have been able to talk about what he is learning from the preaching. I am thankful for this Godly influence in his life, Please pray for unity and growth in our church as we serve the Lord together.CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, MEXICO CITY, Jorge and Aimee Rodriguez —They share the following: “We are rejoicing with the blessings of baptizing 10 people on May 29 at the new property. Please pray for their continued spiritual growth and involvement in reaching the lost. 
CENTRAL AMERICA, EL SALVADOR, Adam and Esther Fridenstine —They share the following report with prayer needs: “The third week of May we had an amazing revival meeting Sunday through Wednesday. Honestly, it was one of the best revival meetings that I have ever attended. We prepared with much prayer and fasting and our people were faithful and open. God worked in so many hearts and there is a love, a unity, and a desire in our church family to reach the world for Christ.SOUTH AMERICA, SURNAME, Mark and Emily Mariner —They share the following: “We are excited that in addition to souls coming to Christ for salvation, we have been able to see new believers grow in Christ. . . . A couple along with another gentleman came to our home for their first discipleship lesson. We are using the “Foundation of My Faith” series published by the Grace to Grow Ministries of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. Emily prepared an excellent meal and we spent time reading and explaining the Scriptures. Please pray for continued growth of this ministry. We desire not only to disciple new converts but also to train and equip others to do the same. The discipleship program will go hand-in-hand with an increased focus on follow up visitation. We will also be employing WhatsApp—a free messenger app that is used by virtually everyone here in Guyana. We will be using this new tool to send sermons, devotionals, and Gospel music and to keep in touch with prospects and church visitors.
CLAIM Ministries, Carl and Glenda Vonnoh —They share the following report: “I was privileged to travel to Ushuaia, the most southern part of South America. Missionary Raymond Zacal and his family have established the Counselor Baptist Church and a three-year Bible institute. He was saved and received training in our ministry at Harvest Baptist Church in San Juan City, Manila, Philippines.USA MINISTRIES, TEXAS, COMMERCE, James and Andrea Mansfield —They write: “We took part in a local fair giving out John and Romans with church tracts along with ice cold water bottles. Andrea did a couple of magic tricks to draw people in and we were able to witness to quite a few. We have had many visitors recently and several returning guests. Two families are starting to become regular and we pray they will join our church soon. One couple has only been married a year and have a two-week old baby. The man had surrendered to preach when he was 15 but never followed through with the call. He feels convicted about it and has asked me to help him learn to preach! Pray for him and his wife as they continue maturing in Christ.CARIBBEAN, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS, Paul and Amy Valles —They share the following report: “There is incredible pressure here for locals to go to a predetermined church—usually their ‘family’s’ church (grandparents, uncle, aunt, etc.) if they do choose to attend a church at all. If they start attending another church, their family pressures them to come back to their family’s church. Therefore, we might have occasional visitors, but they do not often continue coming because of that pressure. That being said, we have seen people get saved, even given them Biblical assurance of their salvation, but this pressure keeps them from attending our services. They seem to understand the Gospel when we present it, but then we talk to them again, and they have been bombarded by a false gospel works salvation in their family’s church. They do not have any assurance in their hearts of where they are going, but for a moment when we open our Bible and show them. This false gospel has a chokehold on their hearts. Please pray for Satan to be hindered, for people to be saved, and for them to have assurance of their salvation that they might grow.”
FAR NORTH, GREENLAND, Gage and Aleah Gilbert —They share the following: “We are so happy that we have finally been approved for residency in Denmark. However, that was only the first step. We then had to register our address, apply for our health cards, set up our NemID (a personal digital signature needed for all online banking, etc.), and get a bank account. This entailed three trips to the borger service (an all-in-one citizen service for things such as health cards and drivers’ licenses) and one to the bank. Outside of ironing out a few details with our bank, we have been able to accomplish each of those things and have received our health and residency cards. Praise the Lord!EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, NTINDA, Dan and Amie Dwire —They share the following with prayer needs: “The first week of June is always an intense week for our community. While the past two years were exceptions because of COVID, our neighborhood expects about a million visitors every June as part of the annual Martyrs’ Day Pilgrimage. The religious event remembers 25 Ugandans who died for their faith in the late 1800s. The Catholic and Anglican churches each have special services which draw millions of pilgrims, thousands of security personnel, and hundreds of street vendors. As a missions project, our local church gave funds to print 27,000 high-quality full-color Gospel tracts titled ‘Something Free for You.’ We also had a few thousand tracts in local languages from Fellowship Tract League. It was exciting to see our church work together to fold and distribute about 22,000 tracts over four days. The remaining tracts will be used in our ongoing outreach and evangelism.USA MILITARY, GERMANY, BAUMHOLDER, Joseph and Laura Passaro —They share the following: “Last month our church celebrated Father’s Day with a GIFT for our fathers along with food and fellowship. The Bible message was ‘The Importance of Fathers.’ The key emphasis during the Sunday sermon was ‘The battleground is in our homes and What’s at stake is ‘Our Children and our Marriages.’ I believer Christian fathers are giving up ground to keep peace, which has caused homes to be without SPIRITUAL leadership. Why my concern, because Christian Fathers need to be spiritual leaders of the household, but unfortunately Christian homes are falling away to worldly enticements. Please pray for our military fathers that have trusted Christ Jesus will be leaders in their homes like they are trained to be leaders in battle.”
USA MINISTRIES, NEW YORK, THE BRONX, Alan and Sabrina Davis —They share the following: “Over the past several years we have faced many problems—the pandemic, mandates, restrictions, tight controls, NYC forcing us out of our last main place because the landlord could not, would not, or did not remove all the violations in the building, and health issues. BUT, we are approaching this year with a fresh and greater determination to plant an independent fundamental Baptist church here in the Bronx. Although the ten spies stumble in unbelief, faith says, “We can!” Even though we are still meeting in our apartment for church services, we have made progress on a church facility. When the pandemic hit, our Operation Stability Project #965 also took a hit. However, we have not given up and we are still looking for more friends praying hard to God. Our prayers are twofold: 1) God will provide the Cue Lounge or something better, and 2) The monthly payments will be little to nothing. PRAY!! FAR NORTH, CANADA, ONTARIO, TORONTO, Cory and April McTague —They share the follow report with three prayer requests: “Please pray for our summer outreach. It will include having another Face Painting booth in local parks. In the city, especially during the warm months, the local parks are packed with people. It is a great opportunity to meet people as their children get free face painting and a free balloon or cold bottle of water. It is well received. It opens a lot of doors of conversation to invite people to church and to share the Gospel.
We have several like-minded churches in the Greater Toronto Area who have a desire to help us reach Toronto for Christ. Pray God blesses these efforts to get the Gospel out.
We do believe the Lord is leading us to homeschool our children instead of sending them to a Christian day school. Pray God blesses our efforts to teach our children. This will open up our schedule to reach into our community more as well.”
CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Joy Wesson and Family —They share the following: “I am amazed how God continues to lead us to more and more deaf young adults. One of these is a deaf young man whom I had the privilege of leading to Christ. Please pray with us for our deaf for their continued growth and commitment to Christ. In a few short weeks we will begin preparing for camp. Our deaf are super excited about this opportunity, and we are trusting the Lord to work in their lives during this special time.SOUTHEAST ASIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, SUCCESS, Gary and Sherrie Lester —They share the following: “First of all, we want to thank everyone for their prayers for our family. After looking at approximately 40 houses (with sometimes as many as 30 applications), we finally were able to find a place that suited our needs and our application was accepted; God answered our prayer. It was the cheapest place we saw, and it was perfect for our family. Our new neighbors grew up about 45 minutes from where Sherrie and I lived in the United States. Please pray for an open door to minister to them.WESTERN EUROPE, SCOTLAND, ABERDEEN, KINGSWELLS, Rick and Sarah Demastus —They share the following report: “May finished off with a youth activity at our house. We were supposed to have a scavenger hunt but had to postpone it to a later date. We enjoyed the testimonies from the youth and the blessings of food. The next weekend was our baptismal service. Two of the four scheduled were baptized on the 5th and it was a wonderful day. We baptized at the Dee River, had a fellowship lunch on the Fisherman’s Bothy, and many people stopped to watch the baptism and hear the Gospel message preached.SOUTH CENTRAL AFRICA, ZAMBIA, Brian and Amanda Collins —They share the following: We are thankful for the many opportunities the Lord has given over the past couple of months. We had the opportunity to share the Gospel at ta three-day funeral of a man near one of the new church plants. The man had recently trusted Christ during an evangelism outreach in the village. There were many professions of faith at the funeral. Several hundred also gathered for a conference at a few of the churches. It is exciting to have things beginning to get back to normal without restrictions.
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, MATO GRASSO, VARZEA GRANDE, Peter and Zirlene Doolittle —They share the following report: “Though we have been extremely busy with camps and the never-ending construction projects on the property, the work of the church is still a primary focus for us and has been steadily growing for the glory of God.CENTRAL AMERICA, EL SALVADOR, SANTA ANA, Cesar and Christine Cerna —They share the following: “Over the past few weeks, the Lord placed on me an increasing burden for my neighbors. In fact, I have a list of dozens of them that I pray for every day. A great majority of them have heard the Gospel from me over the years; however, just recently I decided to go out for a walk every day in my neighborhood. It is good exercise, but more than this, I pray God will open doors for me to be friendlier to my neighbors and witness to them. I am thankful to say that I have been able to share Christ with some of them recently. Please pray that the Lord would break down the walls of unbelief in the hearts and minds of the people who live close to us.”
FAR EAST, JAPAN, OKINAWA, KITANAKAGUSUKA, Dan and Terri Gardner —They share the following: “The month of May seemed to be very busy as we tried to have different events to bring people to church. We were able to have a Mother’s Day service on May 8th that brought some mothers out for which we are thankful. There are still many who do not attend because of COVID and the fear of being around a group. Please continue to pray that the Japanese people would not be so paranoid about COVID. 
SOUTH AFRICA, PORT ELIZABETH, Michelle Geiger —She shares the following report: “I am enjoying the opportunity to teach/help at Bay Baptist Academy here in South Africa. It is awesome to envision how the Lord is going to use these young people.SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, Nate and Christine Saint —They share the following report: “And the best news is that we have often come close to filling up every available seat in our new building! We are now averaging about 30 people every Sunday morning, although Sunday evenings have been more scattered with the cold season upon us. We have had at least one first time visitor almost every week this year. Several of them have turned into regular visitors. Let me tell you about some of them so you can better pray for them. J. and F. and their five-year-old daughter have been coming for the past few months. M. and M. are the wife’s mother and stepdad and they have been coming regularly as well. G. and C. have been coming regularly with their five-year-old daughter. They used to attend a Baptist church that is closing and found us through our website. They have salvation testimonies. P. and K. found us through our Bible giveaway and have been coming ever since. We now hold weekly Bible studies with each of these families, in addition to the regular studies with our church families. We have had little time to spare between mid-week ministries and needed repairs on the church property.”
USA MINISTRIES, NORTH CAROLINA, HENDERSONVILLE, Ed and Barbara O’Brien —They share the following praise report: “As I write this letter, I am reminded of the TV add about the ‘Energizer Bunny.’ It just keeps going and going and going. The Lord has brought fruit in places that we could not have imagined we could ever reach. We praise the Lord for what he has allowed us to be a part of. WESTERN AFRICA, THE GAMBIA, Dan and Sarah Jenkins —They share the following report: “In April, we began a new preaching series at our church on the Life of Jesus Christ. Since the beginning of our church in 2020, it has been our desire to lay a solid Biblical foundation for our church to grow on. That solid foundation starts with Jesus Christ because without a proper understanding of Christ, the Bible would be nothing more than a religious book teaching us good morals. . . . The response to this new preaching series from our church has been incredible. Many have said to us personally that they greatly appreciate a church that actually preaches and teaches the Bible as opposed to many churches here that preach prosperity gospel and charismatic doctrines. Please pray with us as I take our people through the Gospel books and show them the beautiful redemptive history of Scripture.”
USA MINISTRIES, OHIO, MIAMISBURG, Tom and Renee Border —They share the following report: “The Joy Club continues to attract first-timers. The one in Troy was especially blessed of God with 25 people present for the Mothers’ Day ‘CUPCAKE’ themed gathering. The children enjoyed having their mothers join them eating cupcakes, doing matching and guessing games, making a craft, singing, and playing the Concerto from ‘pots and pans.’ The Gospel was proclaimed and lives were impacted in some great and yet—unknown way.WESTERN EUROPE, FRANCE, CHARLEVILLE-MEZIERES, Danny and Janice Flowers —They share the following report: “On May 1 we filled the baptismal pool at the church so that two could be baptized. These young girls (both 8 years old) were saved recently and were ready to publicly declare their faith in Jesus. The children’s class is such a vital ministry in our church. Each week the kids are learning Biblical truths that can help them to grow and mature in Christ. So many children in France have never held a Bible in their hands, much less read a verse! It burdens us to think of a whole generation being raised without God. Please pray that we would be able to reach many more children with the Gospel.CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, ATENAS, Rick and Shannon Dove —They share the following: “In March, Victory Baptist Church of Atenas, Costa Rica, celebrated its 6th anniversary. God has been so good to sustain us and encourage us during these six years! While we have had challenges, God has blessed each step of the way. We praise the Lord that the Saturday before the anniversary service, we had a group from our church pass out invitations for our special service. We had a youth activity that Saturday with our special speaker Alex Taylor, missionary to Panama, whom our church supports. God blessed the occasion on Saturday and our anniversary on Sunday! A first-time visitor received the Lord as her personal Savior that day. Please pray for her to continue to grow in the Lord. Along with all these blessings, the Lord has given us three new families and we are excited to see the Lord work.”
SOUTH AFRICA, Katie Dilfer working in Puerto Rico —She shares the following report with prayer needs: “God has done some wonderful things during my time in Puerto Rico. Last month, God allowed a friend and me to see two people accept Christ as Savior while we were out soul winning! It is thrilling to see someone give his heart to the Lord! CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, Jeremy and Michelle Blanz —They share the following report with prayer needs: “Not only have we recently changed locations for the church, but we also moved to a ‘new’ house. We are about the same distance to the church, but from the other direction. We hope that the Lord will open many doors and opportunities to share the Gospel in the new neighborhood. Since arriving, we have had several setbacks . . . roof, electrical, washing machine, and computer problems. Thankfully, we have most of them resolved. As for our family, the kids are enjoying adjusting to their new rooms, and they are doing well in school. Elijah is making significant progress in Spanish.
In spite of the ups and downs, the Lord has been faithful. We are thankful to be able to serve the Lord in Costa Rica, and thankful too for the prayers and financial support from you folks.”
PRAYER REQUESTS
• That the Lord will use us to lead many to Christ
• That God will build up His church and send forth laborers into the harvest
• That God will guide us and lead us as we move forward with the next phase of the church”
USA HOME OFFICE, HARRISON, TENNESSEE, Dan and Sharon Daugherty —They share the following report: EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, KAMPALA, James and Cheryl Pridgen —They share the following: “Mrs. M. was born and raised in a Muslim family. Last year, she was given one of our Gospel tracts and it took her about nine months before she came to church to find out what it meant to be saved. Then at the age of 76, she was born again into God’s family and she also followed the Lord in Believer’s Baptism! In April, the Lord allowed us to see 59 people saved and baptized. Thank you for helping us to reach the people of Uganda and East Africa with the Gospel. Please continue to pray with us for more churches to be started. Within the next few months another missionary will be starting a new church plant in an area where we have seen many people getting saved. He will be starting with two men that we have trained in our Bible college. It is a blessing to start new churches and to also train others to help start churches too. Please continue to pray for us. One of the ministry vehicles has developed an unexpected problem. The mechanic told us it might cost up to $7,000 to fix. Please be praying for this as well. Thank you for praying for us.”
SOUTHEAST ASIA, NEW ZEALAND, DUNEDIN, Bob and Diana Rutta —They share the following: “The borders of New Zealand have been virtually closed over the last two years as our government thought that they could keep COVID out of the country. The government is now beginning to accept that it was an impossible job and all they have succeeded in doing is to harm the economy, so the borders are opening in stages throughout the year. International mail delivery has been reinstated, so we can now receive letters again.SOUTH AMERICA, GUYANA, Noel and Charlene Shrivnauth —They share the following report: “In April we welcomed the Mark Mariner family to work with us as missionary interns. . . . They will stay in Guyana until the end of the year and then will move to the neighboring country of Suriname.FAR EAST, TAIWAN, TAIPEI CITY, Jon and April Flowers —They share the following with prayer needs: “In March God brought four ladies to our church. Out of these four, only two of them had been to some form of church before. The other two had never heard about Jesus and who He is. They had heard that if they go to church they will be baptized and they will be okay. We have been having a Bible study with them to help them understand God’s Word. It has been a great reminder of the importance of preaching and teaching truth. So many are blind to the truth. After a few weeks of Bible study, I asked one of them if she was ready to trust Jesus as her Savior. She responded like so many others, ‘I am not ready. I still have many questions.’ This is the first church she had ever attended. Everything she is hearing, she is hearing for the first time. Please pray for her. Pray for the Holy Spirit to open her eyes to the truth. Would you also pray for the three other ladies: C., A., and M.? Pray that God will give me wisdom as we deal with them and others here in Taiwan.”
USA MILITARY, OKINAWA, OKINAWA CITY, Ed and Elvie Navato —They share the following report: “My wife Elvie led a first time visitor to Christ during the Resurrection Sunday morning service altar invitation. I baptized three on that same day. Pray for them to serve Christ and grow in grace.CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, GRENADA, Joseph and Donna Childers —They share the following report with prayer needs: “The last two months have been months of considerable spiritual growth within the church plant. We have seen professions of faith in several recent services and each time we have gone door-to-door soul-winning this year. In March, we had another baby dedication, and in April four of our folks (including one of our daughters) were baptized. One of them was a lady who has been coming to the church for four years but had been struggling with obedience and taking that next step. Please pray for their continued growth in Christ. . . . We have seen growth numerically in our Bible institute with a record six students this term. Three of them have been in the church for six months or less and three are returning students.”
CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, BELMOPAN, CAYO, Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer —They share the following report with prayer needs: “At the end of March, a pastor friend invited us to help with his ministry booth at a country-wide expo for two days. We distributed thousands of tracts, Bibles, and portions of Scripture. Elizabeth brought our children and three of the young men from our church to the Expo for the second day. They helped give out materials for a few hours and then went around to do some of the Expo activities. We had met several people recently who said they know us because they were given a tract or Scripture from our church at the Expo. Pray for the Word of God to bring people to a relationship with Christ. . . . Thank you for praying for our family and ministry. Even in the era of instant communication, there is still something awe-inspiring about the fact that one can, at any moment, talk to God about personal cares or the cares of others. . . . He will not leave a prayer unanswered! To God be the glory!
SOUTH AMERICA, ARGENTINA, BUENOS AIRES, D. A. and Debbi Brosius —They share the following with prayer needs: “As we mentioned in our last prayer letter, we are having a Family Camp with just our church. We can report that it went well with a lot of team work, planning, and fellowship. Shana taught the children and played the piano and Debbi worked in the kitchen preparing food for 70 people.FAR EAST, JAPAN, AOMORI, Paul and Sarah Johnson —They share the following: “In our time spent in Japan, most of the contacts we have made and relationships that we have started began with us reaching out to the individual. Whether it was through tract distribution, school events, or just meeting people at the park, the common denominator is that we are usually the ones to initiate the relationship. Because of this, we were amazed recently when several people have contacted us about church. One man called and said that he saw our church sign while walking by our church building. He had previously done some studying with the Mormon church and was interested in knowing more about what our church believed. We were able to meet, and I shared some basic Bible truths with him. He was thankful and asked if he could meet again. Please pray for Mr. ‘O’ as we talk with him.USA MINISTRIES, NEW MEXICO, SHEEPSPRINGS, John and April McDaniel —They share the following report with prayer requests: “We had a great Resurrection Sunday with 39 in attendance and two baptisms. P. and A. were recently saved. A. came to see us while visiting East Mesa Baptist Church. P. and her granddaughter were baptized after the Resurrection Sunday service.WEST AFRICA, TOGO, KARA, Randy and Jeanette Alderman —They share the following: “Gospel films are a great way to draw a crowd to hear a message that they would not ordinarily hear. We had planned a weekend evangelistic outreach with a film showing at the church plant at Tchintchinda in March, but showers coming in the dry season surprised us both nights and rained us out. Members from three other churches had helped us invite those in the neighborhood to attend. When we could not show the films, Pastor Henock as well as those who had participated in the door-to-door invitations were very discouraged. We were, however, successful in showing the films the following weekend and several accepted Christ as Savior. As a result, there is also an encouraging increase in people coming to the Sunday services.”
WESTERN EUROPE, GERMANY, SALZ, Dan and Tricia Dubbe —They share the following report: “Our church is in the center of Germany, located in a rural setting, but we have had many strangers come from Belarus, Iran, Afghanistan, Africa, and now from the Ukraine. Through a translator I assured a Ukrainian family that they were welcome to our church and we wanted to be a blessing to them.SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Daniel and Lisa Files —They write the following: “This month we were able to attend the first service of a brand new church that is opening in Bangkok. That was exciting to be a part of that and reassured us of goals and dreams that we have of starting new churches in this country. We also helped another missionary in a town about an hour and a half away paint a new building. This is his second church plant. We are excited to see what God will do in this city with this new church plant!USA MILITARY, GERMANY, BAUMHOLDER, Joseph and Laura Passaro —They write the following: “When we finished our last prayer letter, the outbreak of war in the Ukraine had just started with the invasion of the Russian army and because of this our soldiers here are being continually deployed downrange. During these times young people start thinking about eternity, so our prayer is that before they depart, we can be a witness to these soldiers. Also, in the first week of March, our church was able to be involved in sending everyday items to Poland to be a help to the refugees who are fleeing the Ukraine. We thank our Lord that we were able to be a blessing.SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN, Mark and Katie Gerosin —They share the following: “I went to visit one of our shut-ins recently. She is not able to attend church due to the full-time care of her mentally handicapped adult son. After encouraging her in the Word, I decided to speak to her husband. A retired man addicted to vice and no help to his struggling wife with their son sat and listened intently. After an hour of hearing the Gospel, he gladly bowed to trust Christ. His wife later said he spent the afternoon in his Bible and everything has changed.FAR EAST, JAPAN, OKINAWA, KITANAKAGUSUKU, Dan and Terri Gardner —They write: “Upon returning from Kansai to Okinawa, we started getting ready for a children’s meeting called Tomodachi Time (Friend Time). It is a time when we invite kids to come on a Saturday for games, candy, and a short message from the Word of God. We passed out 2,000 fliers. We were blessed to have 60 children, three adults, and all our workers, which totaled over 75 people. Some of the boys and girls prayed for Christ to save them. What a blessing that was! It was the first event we have been able to have in the past two years. 
SOUTH AMERICA, BRAZIL, CACOAL, Garry and Pam Tyler —They shared the following: “In January, we began to expand our auditorium so we could seat 50 people rather than 30. We had to take out some partitions but now we have more room. We also started working on the Constitution of the church so we can register and function with bank accounts, as well as buy land and build or buy a building in the name of the church.
EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, SOROTI, Alan and Elena Sutphen —They share the following with prayer needs: “A man who had attended a Catholic church for much of his life had been helping us with some light work at the church construction site when my right-hand man visited him and shared the Gospel. That day, this unassuming 70-year-old man made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. So after, we unexpectedly had need for an additional teacher in our primary school, and we had been praying for just the right candidate. My right-hand man then mentioned that this new convert had taught in primary school for 40 years and had even been a Head Teacher! We gave him an exam and found him more than qualified. He is experienced, articulate in English, and he has been a great asset to us! It is amazing how the Lord answers our prayers and needs so completely! A qualified teacher, who was previously raking up mounds of dirt on our construction site, is now one of the most humble and industrious teachers. So far, he has been very inquisitive during our discipleship studies and overall has truly been a blessing to us at SOAP!
There are still many documented COVID cases. We pray for cases to decrease; nevertheless, I will not allow the children to go into town until these cases are significantly reduced. Please pray for this conclusion.
PRAYER REQUESTS
• Salvation of souls through the SOAP ministry
• Spiritual power of the new convert
• Continued wisdom and progress regarding the church building project
• Healing for one of our teachers who has neuroendocrine tumor (cancer)
• Early salvation and academic growth for new orphans
CARIBBEAN, WEST INDIES, GRENADA, ST. ANDREWS, GRENVILLE, Coco Chan —She shares the following report with prayer needs: “At Lifeline Baptist Christian Academy, my class and I have been striving for excellence. Watching the students grow spiritually and academically is very rewarding. We had good days and days not as good as others, but with God’s help we overcame the difficulties together. It is very comforting that at the end of the day they would still bring me flowers, pictures, and love letters. Thank God for His goodness, especially for the one girl who trusted Christ after the assembly.SOUTH AMERICA, ECUADOR, GUAYAQUIL, Raymond and Anita Bradley —They share the following report: “For more than two years we have been praying to our dear Lord about an assistant pastor. The Lord placed in our hearts Anita’s second cousin whom we trained here for six years in all areas of ministry. Then he moved to take a deaf ministry we started in Ambato. He reached deaf people in different towns around Ambato for six more years. He and his sweet wife of 12 years have a heart for the Lord and for the deaf. The Lord has confirmed to us and our church that he will be the next pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church of the Deaf in Guayaquil. We all pray the Deaf school ministry will be open until the Lord comes back. We will continue to ask for prayer and financial support for our Deaf school in Ecuador.”
FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, Lane and Nelia Jones —They share the following report with prayer needs: “On March 27, four young men and two young ladies graduated from our Bible college. They will start new churches—L. L. in Bobon, C. A. in Washington and one has taken over his home church in Danao, Calbayog. Please pray for J. G. as she is helping start a Bible college in her home church in E. Samar. One of the graduates has a church started already in Marobay.USA MILITARY, GERMANY, BEILINGEN, Rusty and Karen Pilalas —They share the following: “We have had the privilege of taking in an extended Ukrainian family who got out four hours before the borders closed for the men. It is a dad and mom, their three adult children, two sons-in-laws, and two grandkids. We rent and live in a 1-bedroom apartment and rent a 2-bedroom apartment above us for extra room. That is where they all are staying. They are thankful to be safe and with other believers. We are bring encouraged by them with their wonderful testimonies and attitudes. Please pray for them as they seek God’s will about where to immigrate. Until then, they are a great blessing to us and our church. One of them translates the services and we even have Russian-speaking visitors come. They are also repairing things all throughout the building and help with cleaning. We have grown to love this family and are so thankful that the Lord guided them to us.”
CARIBBEAN, NORTHERN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Jeffri and Pamela Polanco —They share the following report: “Toward the end of 2020, a young mother started coming to church faithfully (her daughter came to church through the bus ministry years prior). We have seen the Lord at work in her life, yet she was unsure of her salvation decision despite sharing the Gospel with her multiple times. In one of the ladies’ Bible studies my wife hosted at home, she finally realized that no work on her part could earn her a place in God’s presence. In tears, she cried to the Lord for salvation in what looked like a regular dull Tuesday night to some but ended up being a special night in Heaven. Her joy and growth have been very evident since. She resigned from her job shortly after to look for a job where she could honor the Lord. Please pray that this young mother would continue to grow and that the Lord would continue to supply for her family needs.”
SOUTH AMERICA, CHILE, SAN PEDRO DE LA PAZ, Nathan and Christine Saint —They share the following with prayer needs: “On March 27, we finally organized Truth Baptist Church in San Pedro de la Paz! We have 17 adult members from nine different families! On that Sunday, we had over 30 people in both services. For each of the past three weeks, we have had a least one new family visit and keep coming back! God’s work is growing, and I sometimes wonder if we can keep up. Andres was a man we met through door-to-door visitation. He started coming to church, asked a lot of questions, spent time speaking with Nathan, and a few weeks after that initial contact, Andres made a profession of faith.SOUTHEAST ASIA, CAMBODIA, David and Debbie Board —They share the following: “It was a great blessing to join together two couples in marriage over the past several weeks. Our eldest son, Joshua, was married to a wonderful young lady in our church named SreyNech. Her father was the first adult to accept Christ just prior to our planting a church back in 2010. We are so blessed to see our son and daughter faithfully serving the Lord here in Cambodia! I also had the joy of joining another couple together in marriage. His family are faithful members and she is a new believer. We were blessed to see the testimony this couple maintained despite her family strongly objecting to them having a wedding that honored the Lord. Please pray for these young couples to continue to grow in the Lord and follow His perfect will for their lives. Please pray for us over the next month as together with some of our national leaders we anticipate adding additional discipleship groups in several different villages.”
WEST AFRICA, GHANA, ACCRA, Harold and Bridgette Holdbrook —They share the following report: “We are glad to report that the Lord has provided us with the amount of $12,500 for the purchase of a plot of land for the Kwabenya church building. One of our supporting churches in Virginia gave us $7,000 for us to realize our objective. We give God the praise and thank every one of you who contributed so generously for us to reach our goal!CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, DANGRIGA, John and Robin Harris —They share the following: “Our attendance has increased and new people are starting to come to church. Once the people enter our church, they are treated with a very friendly atmosphere. We were told that at the beginning of April all of the COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted and now we are starting to hold our mid-week services and also a monthly teen night and a monthly kids night. There is a woman who has been coming to our church for several weeks. Recently, she was saved and I am talking to her about baptism. Pray that she eventually will take this important step of obedience.WESTERN EUROPE. FRANCE, CHARLEVILLE-MEZIERES, Danny and Janice Flowers —They share the following report: “I recently received a handwritten letter from a local man inviting me to visit with him in his home and discuss the Bible. He explained that he had received literature in his mailbox from our church and had some questions for me. Upon meeting him, I was surprised to find that he is a devoted Bible reader. He reads 5–6 chapters a day and has done so for years. Despite this religious fervor, he told me he had no idea where he will spend eternity. In years gone by, he studied periodically with the Mormons. We have read and studied God’s Word with him several times, but he has yet to make a decision for Christ. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to open his eyes to the truth.”CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, MEXICO CITY, Josue and Rebekah Ortiz —They share the following report with prayer needs: “Josue and Paco are currently counseling eight to nine people each week. The need is great! In the past six months, a group of about 15 people in our church have been going through training to become biblical counselors. In the next month, they will finish their training. We will then be able to have an even greater reach for counseling those in our church and community. Please pray for this ministry. It has been amazing to see God work in marriages and broken lives through the use of His Word in counseling.
We are nearing the end of the legal process to obtain a piece of land in order to build. We have had several meetings with our architect and are excited about beginning this project soon! Please continue to pray that all the paperwork and permissions will be granted to us. Because of the pandemic, everything takes longer than normal.”
CARIBBEAN, TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS, Paul and Amy Valles —They share the following: “Around two years ago, I led a teenage boy to the Lord, but I have not seen him since that time. About two months ago, he called me and asked me to meet him. We met and I was able to guide him through the Scriptures and he received assurance of salvation. He has faithfully been coming to our church on Wednesday nights since that time. He goes with his family to another church on Sundays; a church that believes you can lose your salvation. He loves coming to our church on Wednesdays and tells me he is learning so much from our teaching and tries to apply it to his life. Please pray that he would grow in Christ and be a witness to others.”
WESTERN EUROPE, GERMANY, INGELHEIM am RHEIN, Walter and Thrasilla Hornung —They give the following report and prayer needs: “I am writing to you with more than a great burden. Because of COVID-19 and strong different opinions on the COVID vaccination in the church as well as serious criticism and various other problems too much to explain, our pastor resigned as pastor of the church, the Freien Baptistengemeinde Mainz. It started so well for us with our new pastor and it is very difficult and painful to understand. However, our Lord is building HIS church. He has declared that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. We are thankful and confident. As you can imagine, it is not easy for an 84-year-old man to have the responsibility of the church Uon his shoulders again. We do have a number of spiritual, loyal, and capable men in our church.SOUTH AMERICA, GUYANA, Noel and Charlene Shrivnauth —They share the following with prayer needs: “In February, we launched our online Bible college. This is something we had in mind to do for a long time. . . . We are glad to partner with Pastor Mike Wells and Parkside Baptist Church in Mesquite, Texas, to start this college. USA MINISTRIES, TEXAS, COMMERCE, James and Andrea Mansfield —They share the following report: “Our weather here in Texas has been quite schizophrenic! One week the boys are in shorts and T-shirts and the next we are cracking the ice so our animals can drink water. Back and forth, back and forth! Sadly, many people here seem to be like the weather. A few weeks of faithfulness and involvement in the church, then no sign of them! It is frustrating to say the least.FAR NORTH, GREENLAND, (Language School in Denmark) Gage and Aleah Gilbert —They share the following report: “December and January showed huge rises in COVID cases and so the Danish government reinstated certain restrictions. Masks had to be worn again in public transportation and most indoor places and a COVID pass was needed to eat in restaurants or go to certain places. But then, by February 3, they lifted all restrictions. We do not know all the reasons, but we are thankful for the freedom once again.
SOUTH AFRICA, John and Chrystal Matney —They share the following report: “God’s goodness and grace continues to flow over our family and His protection is ever about us! I am so thankful for the growth in the members of our church. We have men wanting to grow in their marriages and personal and spiritual lives, and one man wants to start sharing what he gets out of his Bible with others. I am excited to see how God uses these men! The missionary whom we support here out of our church stays busy visiting the ships in the harbor, witnessing, and preaching to the sailors. I went with him a few weeks ago. We visited on the corner of the Durban harbor, which had 3 ships. It took us 4 hours to walk to the ships, visit each ship, and walk back. By the time we finished, we had walked 4 miles. He has visited a total of 32 ships in the month of January, passing out Gospel tracts and Bibles. I go with him when I can, but my responsibilities here and schedule do not allow me to go.WEST AFRICA, COTE D’IVOIRE (IVORY COAST), Kristine McLaughlin —She shares the following report: “A lady has long attended a large Methodist church, which is central to the belief system in Sebia-Yao. From the beginning, she has welcomed Bible studies in her home. Although we have shared Christ at length with her, we have not known exactly where she was spiritually . . . until recently.SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, RIONEGRO, Peter and Elisabeth Putney —They share the following report and prayer needs: “Last month I had the privilege and honor to graduate nine students from our seminary, Seminario Bautista Victoria. These students completed many hundreds of hours of classes in addition to papers, homework assignments, tests, book reading, and much more. . . . Several of these men are called to preach and we will be ordaining one of them as my assistant pastor in April. Another will hopefully be sent out as a missionary very soon. Training others is such an important part of missions and we are thrilled with what God is doing through our seminary!WEST AFRICA, CAPE VERDE, PRAIA, Nathan and Tina Fritz —They share the following; “Our church in Praia was able to host a special Valentine’s Day dinner on the 14th of February. It was not anything incredibly fancy, but a good opportunity to get together with the couples of our church. The theme for the month of February has been the home and the family. I believe it has been a strengthening time for families in our church. One of the great needs in our church is faithful, God-honoring families! EAST AFRICA, UGANDA, KASESE, Matt and Keila Stensaas —They share the following: “We praise the Lord . . . we are now open and back to where we were ministry-wise before the pandemic!USA MILITARY, JAPAN, YOKOTA, Danny and Haruna McKittrick —They share the following report: “The first two months of the year were somewhat hindered by new/revived restrictions on base personnel. The bases were shut down again early January but, praise the Lord, Yokota Air Base allowed service members to leave base for ‘essential services’ and listed church attendance as ‘essential.’ The restrictions were lifted late in January and things are getting back to normal.FAR EAST, JAPAN, OKINAWA, KITANAKAGUSUKU, Dan and Terri Gardner —They share the following with prayer requests: “Our activities and some of our services have been hindered greatly the last two years because of COVID. We are still not totally in the clear here and on the edge of being put back into a state of emergency. We were able to have a Valentine service and have since had a visitor come for the past two weeks. If you would, pray for him. He is a Christian but needs to be scripturally baptized.CARIBBEAN, GRENADA, Joseph and Donna Childers —They share the following report with prayer needs: “We are praising the Lord for His working in the Christian school. Just yesterday, one of the students approached Joe after the chapel service. He was able to lead her to Christ. She comes from an unchurched background and her family is steeped in the Rastafarian religion. . . . We are praising the Lord for his provision toward our school expansion. By faith, we are hiring two national teachers from other independent Baptist churches. This summer we are looking to build two new classrooms for their classes (and the next summer we will build one final classroom).CENTRAL SOUTH AFRICA, BOTSWANA, Mike and Cindy Haley —They share the following with prayer needs: “Our church and ministry theme for this year is PRESSING ON based on Philippians 3:12–14. Dr. Lee Roberson liked to say, ‘The doors of opportunity swing on the hinges of opposition.’ We are excited about the incredible opportunity we have to preach the Gospel, print Bibles, reach the lost, disciple believers, train pastors and lay leaders, conduct children’s Bible clubs, start a Christian school, and plant churches! Without a doubt—our LORD doth come—and by God’s grace, we will carry on as we watch, wait, and work till the trumpet sounds! Glory to God and Hallelujah! SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Dan and Lisa Files —They share the following: “We finished off 2021 with a great service and it seemed like things were leading in the right direction. Then we had a COVID outbreak in our church. We had to go back to live stream only for the first month and a half of the new year. That is not how we wanted to start out; however, we have been able to meet in person as of late. However, not everyone is coming back. Please pray that all our members here will have the courage to come back to church soon. The people here are extremely afraid of COVID. We did have a man who has visited several times bring his wife and daughter for the first time. That was very encouraging! 
SOUTHEAST ASIA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Sam and May Beth Snyder —They share the following: “November and December were busy months with finishing up a term of Bible institute, Kamea literacy classes, and work projects on the mission property. Mary Beth put together a cantata of eight songs for a large choir to sing at our Christmas Day service. One was in Kamea and the rest were in Melanesian Pidgin. On Sunday, she and our children sang ‘Misp’la King B’long Hap Sankamap’ (‘We Three Kings’ that they recently translated).
The past several months there were some issues that came up in the church that required a lot of counseling, helping the leaders in the church to solve some of the problems.
January started off well with many of us church members getting together for a time of fun and some preaching to bring in the new year. We thought that some of the previous problems had been resolved. Sunday, January 2, brought good worship services and time in God’s Word. After the service, we heard of some problems with some living close to us. Those problems became very heavy over the next week, and we ended up flying in a helicopter out of the village on January 9 to avoid a possible dangerous situation.
After seeking the Lord and counsel from others, we have concluded that we should take a 6-month furlough in the States to figure out what is next for us.” Please pray for wisdom for the Snyders!
CENTRAL AMERICA, COSTA RICA, Jeremy and Michelle Blanz —They share the following with prayer needs: “Last month, we continued to push forward with Jeremy preaching a series on Biblical Priorities. This applies to us both on an individual level and also on a church level. One woman came on a Sunday morning and prayed to receive Christ after the service. As church planters, we have continued to prioritize evangelism and discipleship. We have continued meeting with families that attend with us for counseling and discipleship as well as hosting weekly in-home meetings. Unfortunately, our attendance has dropped somewhat due to a faithful family moving away. However, one couple that has not attended for a while has started attending again. Another blessing is that we found a great location for our church plant. Not only that but the owner is a Christian and also desires to help us in any way he can. We are currently applying for permits. If everything goes according to plan, we should have our own location soon! USA MINISTRIES, NEW MEXICO, SHEEPSPRINGS, John and April McDaniel —They write, “A boy, 16, recently called on the Lord for salvation. Pray for him to follow the Lord in baptism and in discipleship.WESTERN EUROPE, GERMANY, SALZ, Dan and Tricia Dubbe —They share the following report: “The church Christmas Eve service had a full house and many visitors as well. Fellowship makes one strong and fit for service. Kids were running all over the place with good stuff about the new year and God answering prayer! The best is yet to come!FAR EAST, TAIWAN, TAIPEI COUNTY, Jon and April Flowers —They write, “Taiwan is not an easy place to plant a church. It takes a lot of sowing before seeing some harvest. We do not see hundreds or thousands saved each year, but we ask that you would pray for us to be faithful sowers. We know God is in control of those who trust Him, and we want to be ready for the time when the harvest does come.SOUTHEAST ASIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, SUCCESS, Gary and Sherrie Lester —They share the following with prayer needs: “While a lot of the world is moving on with life as COVID continues on, Australia and more specifically our state of Western Australia is experiencing some of the tightest restrictions we have had yet. The new restrictions include locking the unvaccinated out of everything except essential services and smaller gatherings. Even things like the zoo and some medical services have been locking the unvaccinated out. Our city also made international headlines when a police officer stopped a Catholic service to check the people wearing masks and checking papers of those who were exempt. These things will most likely affect the churches in coming weeks with limits on how many can attend and who can attend, and for us, if our building will be allowed to be used or not. We have recently had visitors and returning visitors, so please pray that God will open the hearts of the students to the Gospel.”
EASTERN AFRICA, UGANDA, KAMPALA, James and Cheryl Pridgen —They share the follow report: “So far this year the Lord has allowed us to see 55 people saved and 11 have followed the Lord in baptism. Please pray with us as we now work to disciple them. It is a blessing to see these precious children back in school and church again. I am thankful that many of these children are now saved. We have two ‘new’ vans—they are both 2010 models and they do not break down every time we go to pick up kids for school or for church. Thank you for praying for this need and for those who gave! These vans will help us to reach more people with the Gospel!USA MILITARY, GERMANY, BAUMHOLDER, Joseph and Laura Passaro —They write, “The last two years have been VERY difficult for everyone with the COVID pandemic being front and center. Through this, you, the churches and individual supporters have been faithful to not only pray for this work but also always give faithfully.SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Jeff Gross —He writes the following with a list of prayer needs: “Our church started the New Year with a church retreat. We were able to spend two days at a nearby mountain resort. Our theme was Seeking the Lord. We also had a great opportunity to sit down and witness to some family members, all lost. The mother of one of our young ladies came to visit. We spent some considerable time with her mother talking about Jesus Christ, the Gospel, and the Bible. In addition, we were able to explain Christianity to the mother, sister, and her husband, and another member named. No decisions were made but some good seeds were sown!FAR NORTH, CANADA, NEW BRUNSWICK, SAINT-QUENTIN, Dan and Jennifer Post. —They share the following: “There is much to be done in this area. Years of a lack of a Gospel witness is so evident in society. What people call normal or accepted in the eyes of man is definitely not accepted in the eyes of God. We are thankful to have had a visitor this last Wednesday night. C.’s friend is interested in coming again and we are praying for her salvation. We are praying that the church will grow and that the Lord will give us a permanent location. Please pray that C.’s family will get saved as well. We also ask you to pray for the husband of a lady who faithfully comes to church. The cancer seems to be in remission. I have witnessed to him and he says that he is saved. Our advantage of having our services over the Internet was that he was able to hear the messages.”
USA MILITARY, ITALY, MARSURE, AVIANO, Chris and Lou Anne War —They share the following report: “This past Monday, I received an email from an Italian man. He told me that he found our church through the Internet and was very interested to come to church to see our services and learn more about Baptists. He speaks English well and was planning on coming to the 11 AM service, which is only in English. Then he could stay for the afternoon service as well. I also explained that between services we could answer any questions he had about what Baptists believe.
FAR EAST, MONGOLIA, ULAANBAATAR, Jason and Mary Ritchie —They share the follow report: “I continue to improve each week. All the battery tests show that I am indeed much better than expected at his stage of recovery. I just had an EKG and though I am still a bit tachycardia, everything else looks good. Next month I will probably have a CAT scan, which will map my lungs. For now, I am continuing with the pills, therapeutics, exercise, and rest. SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN, Mark and Katie Gerosin —They share the following report and prayer needs: “Our two faithful workers in charge of our mountain mission in El Brasil recently had a special Christmas service. They invited me to come and preach. We had an excellent turnout and I preached about The Most Precious Gift. Afterwards, two responded to the invitation and were born again. Pray for this work as our desire is to convert it into an independent Baptist church.
One of the wonderful signs of what a wonderful year 2021 has been is in the number of people we have seen follow the Lord in Believer’s Baptism. Recently, we added 5 more to that number for a total of 24 this year. All of them are people actively being discipled either by others or by myself in our church. God called us to win them, baptize them, and make disciples. Praise God He is stirring the waters!
PRAYER REQUESTS
• Old church building to sell
• Funds for new building purchase
• More souls to be saved and baptized
• English ministry to bear fruit
• Our national leader as we begin new church plant”
CENTRAL AMERICA, BELIZE, BELMOPAN, CAYO, Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer —They share the following: “During the months of November and December, we looked for specific ways we could encourage the people of our church to get involved in serving the Lord. As we served together, we enjoyed sweet fellowship. Several people came to help us put together invitation packets in preparation for our church Christmas program, which was on December 19. Each packet had a Christmas tract, invitation to the Christmas program, church information card, hot chocolate packet, and a candy cane. One of the ladies who helped make the packets is not physically able to go door-to-door to invite others to church but she was a wonderful help with the preparations. We made and passed out over 300 packets in the neighborhood surrounding the church.FAR NORTH, GREENLAND, Gage and Aleah Gilbert —They share the following with praise and prayer needs: “We are so thankful to be here in Denmark because being here brings us closer to Greenland. We took about a week and a half to get settled in and somewhat acclimated to our new life before jumping into language school. We have a wonderful teacher who is patient and kind but also very thorough. We now have several hundred words and phrases in our heads; it is just a matter of remembering them all and saying them correctly. Spoken Danish and written Danish is often very different, so we find it difficult sometimes to remember the correct pronunciation; however, the Lord is giving grace and we are progressing.
USA Military, Italy, Sicily, Al and Elizabeth Hamilton —They share the following: “As mentioned in our last prayer letter, we were looking for a place to baptize and the Lord provided. A local farmer allowed us to use his above ground swimming pool—what a blessing we enjoyed as four people who had recently been saved identified with Christ! Regarding discipleship of believers, we have recently had one couple finish, another couple will finish soon, and a single sailor will begin immediately. Praise the Lord!USA MINISTRIES, TEXAS, COMMERCE, James and Andrea Mansfield —They share the following: “There is nothing more satisfying than serving the Lord. It has its battles, but the rewards are so worth it! I love seeing people grow and mature in the Lord. He has led me to have a separate Sunday school class for new believers or ones needing the fundamental truths. I am praying to expand this class in the new year! We had an ‘Old Fashioned/Western’ Sunday. A guest speaker challenged us and the dinner on the grounds was done in true potluck.
My boys are such a blessing and helped as well as challenging the other teens to become vocal in their faith. A girl that received Christ at our church a couple months ago is getting a ride and coming quite faithfully. It is exciting to see young people desire church.”
SOUTHEAST ASIA, THAILAND, Jeff Gross —He writes the following with prayer requests: “The theme of Bible Baptist Church this last couple of months has been ‘The Fruit of the Spirit.’ Studying the fruit of the Spirit made us painfully aware that our understanding of love, joy, peace, gentleness, and goodness . . . is not the same as God’s meaning. The world has an imitation for each fruit, which certainly does not lead to real peace and joy. Real fruit, of course, can only be produced by the Holy Spirit. The study has been and eye opener for our group. We thank the Lord for His Word and for the Holy Spirit to lead and teach us!CENTRAL AMERICA, HONDURAS, Jason and Cassy Tate —They share the following: “During the past few weeks, we had several weddings and new members were added to the church! We were also blessed to see a good number of new believers follow the Lord in Believer’s Baptism.CARIBBEAN, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Erik and Holly Johnson —They share the following with prayer requests: “In November, we marked another sign of a return to normalcy with our annual Bible Conference. Due to COVID-19, it has been two years since our last conference and we were uncertain how it would be received and attended by our church. For the conference we were greatly blessed to have three terrific pastors from the capital graciously travel up to our city to share the Word of God. Each message was a unique and special challenge for out church. All three evenings we saw first-time visitors come and clearly hear the Gospel. Our final night was the most well attended as it was hard to find an open seat! We praise the Lord for the powerful preaching of the visiting pastors, the faithfulness of the church members, and the dedication of many who serve to make sure that the conference was a blessing.WESTERN EUROPE, SPAIN, MADRID, PARLA, Julio and Andrea Velasquez —They share the following: “GOAL REACHED! We are thrilled to inform everyone that we have reached the total amount of $80,000 for the remodeling of our church! We are praising God for providing the money needed. Because of rising prices in construction materials, we have had to raise our expenses by $10,000. If any friend or church would still like to give to this project, just send it to our Mission Board in our name and label it Building Fund. In all, we received money from 10 of our friends and from 22 of our supporting churches. We want to thank each of you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity in giving. May the Lord bless you richly for your generosity.FAR EAST, PHILIPPINES, METRO MANILA, John Mark and Kristin Catalan —They share the following report: “For the past two months, we have been working with my father and brother’s church in Makati City and Taytay, Rizal, both are within 15–20 minutes away from us. Weekly we alternately go to these churches to preach, witness, and help in the ministry. As of now, the Philippine government just put the country to Level 3 restrictions and checkpoints due to the increase in people getting sick because of COVID, which makes it difficult for us to go out to do surveying for a place and soul winning to someone who is a stranger. Despite the restrictions, we keep ourselves busy by contacting people that we know and scheduling to visit them. Please pray as we meet with two families this month. One family is Catholic and in the other family, only a few of them are saved. Our goal is to share the Gospel with them and possibly start a Bible Study that might lead to a church plant, Lord willing. Continue to pray for guidance as we continue to survey and look for leads where we can start a church.”
SOUTH AMERICA, GUYANA, Noel and Charlene Shrivnauth —They share the following report: “In December, we conducted a Christmas tract blitz! We were anticipating giving out 40,000 Christmas tracts. We surpassed the goal and gave out 90,488 tracts. . . . The Christmas paper missionaries were distributing in such places as open air markets, busy traffic areas, shopping areas (where many were Christmas shopping), barber shops, parking lots, and ball fields.WEST AFRICA, COTE D’IVOIRE, Bob and Becky Mach —They write, “We were finally able to complete the sale of the Yopougon property. This has been an ongoing situation since late 2014. We have passed through many legal battles, many complications, and many threats as well. However, the Lord has allowed for the sale, and we have received the proceeds, which will be used to further the ministry here.EAST AFRICA, KENYA, Erica Bohman —She shares the following report: “These past two months have been full of opportunities for us to both reach out to the lost and be a blessing to other Christians. I encouraged the girls in my Bible studies, who are already saved, to focus on reaching out to others. They had an opportunity to do something for others by coming to my apartment for a fun time of decorating cookies to give out to all the children in the Bible club!
FAR EAST, OKINAWA, Dan and Heidi Gardner —They share the following report: “Continue to pray for a man who comes occasionally, but his job is moving him south, so he will not be able to come much. However, he brought a friend to English class. He lives in the apartment right NEXT DOOR to us with his parents! He calls me almost every week to come for English. After one class, we went out for dinner together and talked for a couple of hours. His heart is tender. A couple of weeks later, he brought a friend. After class, we ended up playing games for several hours and just talking. Please pray for these young men to be saved! They are so open to talk and I have had several opportunities to share about God’s Goodness and love."
Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Psalm 37:4–5
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men: For kings, and for all that are in authority: that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Please pray for Barbados President Sandra Mason.