Veldhuis December 2008 Prayer Letter
Dear Family and Friends in Christ,
Sand drifts across our church lawn, undermined sidewalks, torn off shingles, and debris- filled gutters from desert sand storms require quick and constant attention to prevent greater damage from future storms. Thanks to our Lord’s grace and daily proactive repairs we sustained only minor loss from a Thanksgiving eve thunderstorm that brought almost one half of our annual three inches’ precipitation in a matter of hours. Lydia and Silas were providentially both home on a school break to help clean the flooded church sanctuary and rebuild berms quickly.
In the same way, daily individual attention to the spiritual needs of Cocopah natives is the price all of us must pay for victory over the drugs, gang violence, indolence, and shameless immorality that define the reservation mind set. Relentless daily pressures to sin desensitize individuals to its consequences and open them to its ravages. Saved adults often move off tribal land to escape this poisonous atmosphere.
Lydia and Silas are as big a help with the spiritual needs of those still on the reservation as they are with the physical work around the church. Lydia encourages and warns Cocopah friends by phone while Silas does so in person. Lydia can hardly believe the lack of understanding or indifference of her West Coast Baptist College friends to Native American needs. Bible College has increasingly convicted her of God’s call to this mission field.
PRAY that Silas will be more concerned about his friend’s souls than about his own acceptance by them. Ask the lord to help us set the right priorities with worthy but never ending church ministries so that our own family needs can also be met.
Spiritual darkness is too oppressive here and personal complacency too pervasive to imagine that our labors could produce any eternal fruit for our Lord without His power and blessing. We appreciate your prayers of thanksgiving and supplication for the following Praise Reports and Prayer Needs more than we could say, as through them the word of the Lord will have free course (II Thess. 3:1).
PRAISE REPORTS:
- Growth of the Hayes, Rodriquez, and Sereno families, and other young people since camp and VBS.
- The ability to pick up foster children from three youth homes for all services.
Good ladies’ cookie bake and Bible study October 15th and a godly youth night October 31st. - Blessed mission meetings near Atlanta, GA., October 10-13 and in Martville, N.Y., Nov. 9-13.
- November revival services at Heritage Baptist Church in Yuma.
- Maranatha and Treasure Valley Baptist Churches’ gift of a 2001 low mileage church van.
- Bernice and sister Betty’s improved health and faithful church attendance.
- Young adult, Carlita’s, dedication of herself, her children, and her East Reservation home to the Lord.
- Special individual and church gifts that covered all of Lydia’s college expenses and freed her to devote all of her energy to her Bible courses and Christian ministries.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Long church trip to pick Christmas fruit, 12/13/2008.
- Christmas fruit distribution and soul winning visitation.
- Ladies and girls’ Bible study and cookie decorating party 12/20/2008.
- Christmas service and party 12/21 and 22/2008.
- Watch night service 12/31/2008.
- Daren, Crystal, Dillon, Donald, Jesse, Joshua, Lorie, Rhea, and other young adults’ return to the Lord or genuine conversions.
- Help for Dawn and Silas’ core Cocopah ministries February and March, 2009 so that I can make a New York State missions trip before beginning camp and VBS preparations.
May your Christmas and New Year be as blessed in the Lord as you have made our family’s and our church’s in 2008.
Sincerely yours In Christ,
Michael, Dawn, Lydia, and Silas Veldhuis
