With all that has gone on here lately, some may be wondering what we are up to now that we are minus the chickens, sheep, and it isn't garden season. Our house is for sale and we are headed out permanently as soon as things are wrapped up here. But, what about all the time in between while we wait? What do we do until the Lord's timing is right to move?
We have prayed and feel that God wants us to be doing a few different things. For one, we are still active in our local assembly, doing whatever needs to be done. We also are working at the local food pantry, helping stock shelves, distribute food, and witness to folks in the process.
Last weekend, we went to the local "Festival of lights" parade and passed out gospel literature on the street, and took a friend with our family. The young man we took is a friend from our assembly. He is on fire for God and wants to see people saved. It is good to see a young person whose desire is to serve the Lord and winning souls for the Savior.
This coming weekend will be much the same as last, with a parade about 1 1/2 hours north in Ellsworth. My mother lives near there and we are joining her local church in their gospel tract distribution. They will have a parade float and folks walking along the route talking and handing out tracts and other items.
Saturday afternoon we will meet again with our friends, Jenny and Heap Him, missionaries with CRM to Cambodia. They have 6 children and are going back to Cambodia at the end of the month, so this is most likely the last time we will get to see them. They are a wonderful couple, a great family that the Lord has used to work with AIDS patients in Cambodia along with a plethora of other ministries there. Please keep them in prayer as they travel and seek the Lord's guidance as to the next phase of their ministry.
The next day we will be visiting friends and family in 3 churches in one day. Family Bible Church in Ellsworth, our home church when we lived there, is our first stop. We will be there for Sunday AM worship service, and then head to Bible Baptist Church in Hancock. This is my mother's home church, the one we will be working with at the parade. They have an afternoon service that we will be attending. Then, at 6pm we will be visiting Maine Coast Baptist, a church that I attended for many years of my childhood. We have friends there and it is a church on fire for evangelism. We will be sharing our ministry Dec 10 at Maine Coast Baptist.
I am ready to preach at any service that I am asked, but have found that many churches don't give just anyone a preaching time slot. I understand the caution, but at the same time am desiring to share what the Lord has put on my heart. Regular readers here know my passion for Christ and evangelism. I do have a few things that God has burdened me to share with those who are willing. Pray that we have opportunity to encourage, exhort, and be a blessing to all that we come in contact with. We are a team, working together as the earthly body of Christ, and it is a blessing to do whatever the Lord wills. We are giving our lives to Him to do as He pleases.
With all the traveling, and hopes of a long trip to Ohio in January(maybe sooner) we have decided to buy a camper trailer. It is a 24 1/2' 5th wheel type camper. It is older, and we will be able to pay cash for it (no more debt for us) and have it ready to go in the next few weeks. Getting an older camper means more work to do, and I have repairs and modifications planned. We will have the camper this weekend, hopefully ready for our trip to Ellsworth as a test run on the road before we skip across country.
Part of the reason for the camper is that in talking with the chaplains with Transport for Christ in Beaverdam, we were asked to consider also helping with the Toledo chapel. This would be about 75 miles north of our planned home in Bluffton, so we would need someplace to sleep for the times we would be in Toledo. A camper seems to fit for many reasons, and not needing a larger truck, this one fits the bill. Another use for the camper would be some place to stay when we come to Maine for August each year. We would be here for the Union Fair open air ministry that we helped begin this year. We would take that opportunity to visit family and spend time with folks from the chapel here, and helping with evangelistic work while we are here.
The doors seem to be swinging open for us as we continue to be more full time than part time in ministry. Much is behind the scenes stuff, but the only roadblock we have right now is our house selling (maybe renting to the right person) but we are feeling led to get started this winter, using the camper as a short term living space while we go from place to place.
So, that is about it from here for now. We will try to keep folks up to date, but feel free to call and talk. I get sick of typing some times and love to hear what is going on with everyone else. Keep us in prayer, we certainly can't have too much of that!
Mark
