Messick

Dear Fellow-laborers,

We continue to receive snow on the mountains around us and rain here. It will make for a beautiful desert this spring with all the plants in bloom! I'm sure many of you back east are looking forward to signs of spring after so much snow this winter.

Dear Ones in Him, 

Greetings from a very wet Arizona! The recent storms brought huge amounts of rain and snow to our state. A missonary friend, Sam Grammer of Flagstaff, was trying to make his way home from Phoenix and spent the night here, as I-17 north was closed. Though it caused many traffic problems, we are so thankful to see the streams and rivers replenished.

CHRISTMAS 2009

Dear Ones in Him,

At Christmas time, we look forward to giving gifts to our loved ones and opening gifts, as well. Hopefully, is a time when we reflect on the Gift God sent, His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ's purpose in leaving His glory in heaven was to die for our sins. Jesus said, “for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name...” (John 12:27:28). This Christmas, as we tear away the wrapping paper to reveal a gift, may it remind us of the Savior's sacrifice on the cross so that we can receive eternal life, the greatest gift of all.

Dear Ones In Christ,

We are sending this from Indiana. As you may recall, our annual missions retreat was held at First Baptist Church in Wayland, MO. (near our mission accounting office in Keokuk IA.), August 13th-15th; and what a blessed time it was. The messages from Brother David Jaspers and Pastor Dan Deatrick were both challenging and encouraging, the music program by Paul and Betty Hiscock was such a blessing. The folk at First Baptist treated us like royalty, and it was great to relax and spend time again with our fellow missionaries. We appreciate so much John and Carla Dunlap housing us while there.

Greetings from The Oven of the West,

As I write this, it is 107 degrees here, and yes that is hot even if it is a dry heat! But we're still about eight or nine degrees cooler than Phoenix, so we shouldn't complain!

Dear Ones in Him,

Our loving heavenly Father is answering your faithful prayers concerning church attendance. We continue to see new folk coming, as well as others who have returned after missing services for some time. We have two ladies awaiting baptism. Hopefully we can work out arrangements soon with a local church that generously allows us use of their baptistry.

Greetings from cool, mild Arizona,
 
We can say that only about four months out of the year. The rest of the year the weather isn't exactly something to brag about! But we certainly do enjoy the fall season.
 
The first of October, friends from our former days in Indiana: Brenda Mowrer, Nina Norman, and Pat Thom came out for a visit. They are dear friends and we enjoyed the fellowship, and taking in some sight-seeing with them.
 
It is with thanksgiving that we write to share with you what God is doing:

Dear Ones in Him,
 
We trust you are enjoying the blessings of the Lord in your daily walk with Him. Last month, we mentioned that nine-year old Berto had accepted the Lord. We've seen a change in Berto's behavior, and he has been witnessing to his sister, six-year old Marina. Recently, in the van on the way home from church, she had many questions about being saved. Bev had the joy of sharing the way of salvation from God's Word with her, and Mirina prayed and asked Jesus to be her Savior.

Dear Fellow-laborers in Christ,
 
It is hard to believe that Fall is fast approaching already. Seems only last week we were taking down Christmas decorations!
 
Over all, this has been a good summer, and we want to share some of God's blessings from August. First, it is with thanksgiving that we write of the salvation of nine-year old Berto. On the way home from church one Sunday, Berto told Bev he wanted to be saved, so we drove to a nearby park and sitting under a tree, Gary opened God's Word, shared the way of salvation, and Berto prayed and trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Please pray for his spiritual growth.

SUMMER 2008

We sent our last newsletter in December 2007, and as we reflect back over the last several months, we are amazed at how full our days  have been, and realize that every day is a gift from God. He continues to wonderfully supply both opportunities to serve, and resources to support our service. God takes such good care of us, and we praise Him for good health and strength and for a constant supply of all we need. We would like to share with you about some of those opportunities and resources.