Video Script:

To begin this update, I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of our family.  This is Tess.  She is a five-year-old Lakeland/Patterdale Terrier mix.  She came from a good home, but due to some changes in their work environment, she was having to be left home all day every day, and her owners knew that wasn’t fair to her.  We were in the beginning stages of looking for a dog, and the Lord allowed us to see Tess.  We fell in love with her as soon as we met her.  We’ve had her for a couple of weeks now, and she’s definitely become one of the family.  She’s also been great for ministering because everyone who sees her wants to pet her and love on her.  Yes, I believe she’ll lead to many open doors for us here in the community.

We are fully in the midst of harvest time here in Wales.  As you can see, the trees are sprouting berries like crazy.  The leaves are starting to change colors, and the scenery is taking on more earth tones.  Unfortunately, with these changes, we’ve also begun the rainy season.  We’ve had a few days of heavy rain and quite a few days of wind and drizzle.  The good news is that the rain here often brings some magnificent rainbows, like this one here.  It stretched all the way across the sky and held some of the most vibrant colors I’ve ever seen in a rainbow.

We’ve hosted three harvest services at the two Baptist chapels in Rhayader and attended a couple of others.  Harvest services are a big thing here in Wales.  They’re basically special church services with a harvest/thanksgiving theme.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures because the privacy laws over here are very strict, and we’re not allowed to use people’s photos without written permission.  So, I’m afraid you’ll have to settle for scenery shots.

I can show you another ministry tool we’ve started using here.  This is a little goodie basket we made up for the various delivery drivers that come to our house.  Since we live in a small town, there are no big stores near us.  That being the case, we do most of our household shopping online, so we have deliveries coming to the house quite often.  Anyway, we made up these little baggies with a few tasty treats and a tract inside.  We’ve already given away probably 20-25 so far, and the delivery people are delighted.  One driver left a note, thanking us.  Others have told us in person how much they appreciate our thoughtfulness.  But my favorites are the ones that don’t know I’m inside and can hear them, like the one driver who noticed the basket and sign and exclaimed, “Oh, how cool!” and then rummaged through the basket like a child at Christmas.  I don’t know if anyone has been saved yet through this ministry, but God promised His Word wouldn’t return void, and we know the Word is getting out there.  All in all, it’s been a fun ministry.

Jason has been busy with a men’s weekend meeting and an upcoming meeting for next summer’s youth camp.  He’s also been helping an elderly friend with some handyman projects around his house.  Tennille and I are trying to work out a time to start some serious planning for a ladies’ Bible study and next spring’s ladies’ retreat.  The four of us are also working out details for the fall and winter community outreaches we want to pursue.  It’s strange.  In a way, time seems like it flies by, and we stay so busy.  But in other ways, it often feels like we haven’t accomplished much.  But, I guess that’s just the way it is in ministry, and that’s okay as long as we stay at it.

Lord willing, I’ll be back soon with some more highlights about our ministry here in Wales.