I knew it was past time to write another update on our deputation journey, but I had no idea it had been over a month since I last did so. Time flies when you’re traveling all over the place and jumping time zones! Since it has been so long, and we have been so very busy, I’ll mostly give you the highlights of the past month. I don’t want this update to get too bogged down with details, but some exciting things have happened, so I’ll do my best to keep it short and sweet while keeping in the juicy stuff. Deal?
It all began with our trip to Wisconsin on September 20th. We had a wonderful time there with First Baptist Church, and they took such good care of us. The pastor even insisted on taking us to the cheese store and buying us an assortment of cheeses, which is the sensible thing to do when in Wisconsin. I have to admit, we’ve enjoyed them greatly, but not as much as we enjoyed our time with the church and the pastor.
That evening, we traveled a little ways to Baileyville Baptist Church in Illinois. Once again, we were welcomed in to their services and made to feel like family. We had a great time of worship and fellowship and truly appreciated the opportunity to present our burden.
From there, we traveled to Florida (yes, Illinois to Florida) to begin a missions conference on Wednesday at West Gate Baptist Church. This church spoiled us for days and treated us like royalty. It was a joy to meet so many wonderful people and also to fellowship with other missionaries. We even had the opportunity to teach a couple of classes in the day school, which was a lot of fun since we mostly had the younger classes. The conference ended with a bang when the faith promise commitment for the year made a 60% increase from the year before. The church voted right then and there to take on all of the missionaries in attendance, ourselves included. Hallelujah!
The following Wednesday, we enjoyed another great service in Florida with Trinity Baptist Church. The people were very kind and asked some wonderful questions about the work we’re planning to do in Wales. After the service, the Pastor graciously prepared us a meal in the fellowship hall, and we spent some time chatting together about ministry.
The next day, we were able to travel to our home base in South Carolina for a couple of days. We met with family, picked up our mail and packages, got haircuts and chiropractic adjustments, and even took our pastor and his family out to dinner in honor of Pastor Appreciation Month. It was a quick stop, but it was nice to be “home” for a little while.
On Saturday, we left out for North Carolina, where we had meetings in Trinity and Albemarle the following day. Once again, we had a wonderful time of fellowship with the pastors and precious people of these churches. We were so honored by the privilege to share our hearts and for Jason to be able to preach in these pulpits.
From there, we went to Tennessee and worshiped on Wednesday evening with the gracious folks at Community Baptist Church. Even though the emphasis of the service that night was on the youth ministry, the pastor kindly allowed us the chance to tell about our calling.
After a day of rest (something we both really needed), we made our way to Missouri for a couple of meetings we had set up for Sunday. This trip was truly special to me because I was able to meet up with a friend I met through my blog five years ago. This was our first time meeting face-to-face, and it was so exciting. We spent time with her Sunday afternoon and again on Tuesday morning before leaving out for another missions conference. Words cannot describe what a blessing it was to spend those hours with her. We also had a great time with the two churches we visited and have made arrangements to return to one of them for a more official meeting early next year.
Last Wednesday, we began a missions conference in Independence, MO. We have been in many churches that have a heart for missions, but this church really blew us away. It wasn’t just the pastor or staff who were involved with the missions program. The entire congregation knew their missionaries by name and could tell you what country they were serving in. It was amazing. Not only was their heart for missions an encouragement to us, but they spoiled us in so many ways, we didn’t want to leave. They also allowed us to take part in several of their ministries, including door-to-door visitation, participating in the bus routes, teaching a Sunday School class, and so much more. On Saturday afternoon, the men got together for a “Steak and Shoot,” which is exactly what it sounds like. At one point, my sweet husband was out there playing with a flamethrower. Needless to say, they had a great time. Meanwhile, a group of us ladies went out to dinner. Let’s just say there was a lot of giggling going on during that meal. It was such fun! Sunday was the big day—the conclusion of the conference. Several souls were saved during the week, and things just kept getting better. Sunday night, we witnessed the most moving missions ceremony I’ve ever seen. One by one, families came up to “hold the light” of a missionary supported by the church. As candles filled the dark room, I heard our name called out. I couldn’t hold back the tears as a young lady came forward to “hold the light” for us. It was so touching. Not only had the church taken us on for financial support, but they showed us through this action that we would be prayerfully supported as well. It was one of the best missions conferences we’ve ever attended, and we felt so encouraged when we left out on Monday.
But God’s blessings didn’t end there. As we traveled toward Shelbyvillle, TN, Jason received a phone call from a pastor we didn’t know. This pastor had gotten our information from another pastor and had showed our video presentation during their virtual missions conference at their church a little while back. Since that time, according to the pastor, they haven’t been able to get Wales off their minds. So, Sunday night, their church voted to take us on for support. That, my friends, was a first! We have never met the pastor or congregation. To my knowledge, we’ve never even contacted them. But God worked in a miraculous way and added to our needed support, which finally pushed us up to 50%. Praise God!
We’ve spent the past couple of days in Shelbyville, TN, attending the annual Scripture Conference at Victory Baptist Church. It has been a couple of long, busy days, but it’s been exciting. We witnessed funds raised for over two truckloads of paper for printing Bibles to distribute to missionaries across the world free of charge. We even got to take part in loading a container of Bibles which will soon be making its way to Africa. Isn’t that awesome? We even got to catch up with some old friends who attend church there. It was a thrilling meeting, and I’m so glad we were able to attend.
Currently, we’re in South Carolina. We weren’t supposed to be. We were scheduled to be in two different churches in Georgia yesterday and to begin a missions conference in Illinois this evening, but I guess the Lord had other plans. We received word late Friday night that one of the friends we had spent time with last week has tested positive for COVID. Since we spent a lot of time with this individual and even went to their home, we knew the only responsible thing for us to do was go into quarantine. Obviously, we’re frustrated by this delay in our deputation, but we’re trying to look on the bright side. We should be able to get some much-needed rest over the next couple of weeks, so there’s that!
Anyway, that’s the latest with us. There have been plenty of ups and downs, but through it all, God’s been good!
