Greetings all,
I felt that the time I have been forced to spend out of commission due to illness has given me much time to reflect on the work here in Richmond, Kentucky. The entire family, to varying degrees, has been ill this past week. Nathaniel started the whole thing with a headache, fever, and a terrible cough. He then passed it on to me. I ended up with the worst of it, but am healing more and more each day. I am still battling a sinus infection resulting from 4 days battling the flu. Sara is doing better, but still needs to rest, as she has herself and a baby to be healthy for. The girls did catch the bug, but seem to have pretty decent immune systems and are now playing and running around.
Looking out the window, I wonder how it is possible that it was 29 degrees last night! The sun is shining, and temperatures are expected to be in the 60's and 70's in the next 3 days. We are very glad to see that forecast, as we were not planning on having to heat the camper this much already. We do have a great propane furnace and a backup electric heater, and surely can endure much harsher climate than this. Still, it is nice to be outside and able to knock on doors with the Gospel message without the cold being the reason folks won't open the doors.
On that note, I wanted to give a bit of an update of sorts of the work so far with Bluegrass Bible Fellowship.
The first few weeks, we worked on reaching the contacts that were hard to find, either due to scheduling problems, folks changing jobs, or some that moved or no longer have a phone or other ways to contact them. This has been a major challenge, and sadly some have not been able to be reached with a follow up visit. To me, this underscores the great importance of giving a solid Gospel message when the opportunity first arrives, not expecting another chance. None of us are promised tomorrow, the urgency of the message grows with each passing day.
As for the 314 contacts that were made during the surge of Gospel proclamation here in May/June, some folks lose interest quickly, some move away and simply forget about what they heard, so many times we see the truth in the parable of the sower. These lessons are hard to learn, and we know God is in control, yet it is not the Lord's desire that we be flippant in our role as ambassadors for Christ. We strive to make each conversation all it can be, seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit rather than any contrived speech or popular program.
Even knowing that not all will heed God's warning of judgement to come, there is still much to thank God for. Men and women, and also children have received eternal life! Many of the folks here at BBF have stayed the course, and are doing in home and group Bible studies with many of these people. Last count, I believe there are 16 involved in personal or group Bible studies. Some have been in fellowship for some time now and have been baptized. Another area of continued outreach and fruit from previous labor is kids clubs. Club has been going well, and last week we had 23 children under 14 that came to learn more about God, the Bible, and most of all, salvation through Jesus Christ. We help the folks here shuttle children to the clubs and home again. Sara teaches the Bible lessons, and helps with keeping the kids in line, too. That can be quite a challenge, believe me!
I have been asked to share on two Wednesday evenings. This is such a privilege to share what God is doing in our hearts, and what He has shown us about Himself through His Word. I have also been taking time to continue to work on "one anothering" projects, coordinate ongoing door to door Gospel efforts here, and taking a few Bible studies a week myself. I recently took a rainy day and worked through a "Christianity Explored" video series, assessing it and working on how to implement the course in continued outreach here.
The door to door effort is taking back off this week, now that we are headed back to health. We are using the mapping and documenting process that Justin Humes put together. I believe that this intensive, detail oriented approach to reaching a neighborhood is the most effective means of reaching every person with the Gospel that I have seen. If you are interested in learning more about the method (which is simple) please email me. I would be happy to share with you the paper Justin wrote about how we do what we do.
On the home front, we continue in school during the week. The children are learning Bible verses, each one usually targeted toward a certain attribute of Christ that we are trying to work on in the children. We have noticed that most of the time, all the kids can recite each other's verses. I think Naomi can recite upwards of 30 verses including references. They are little sponges at this age, and it is great to see them soaking up the right kind of information. We have some great examples in raising children in our lives, and we are so blessed to have folks from multiple generations as examples and encouragers as we seek to serve the Lord in the stewardship of His children in the time they are given to us.
Of course, an update just wouldn't be an update without a baby update. Well, Sara is 22 weeks along now, and we are due to have an ultrasound in Ohio on our monthly trip there October 26, which is a week from today. Baby is kicking often, and with increasing strength that can be felt outside the belly. Naomi often comes and "gives the baby hugs" before saying good night. I often wonder what she is thinking, as she never really understood the loss of Joshua. Naomi is really bright, and understanding more concepts by the hour it seems, yet maybe the Lord was again gracious in sparing her the sorrow of losing a sibling.
A divine wiping of the memory or some such thing would explain why women have more than one baby, as I was told, they seem to forget the pain and trials in light of the wonderful gift of life. We should see our lives on this earth in this way. It is painful for a time, but in the end (for those who repent and are saved) it will be worth it all just to see our Savior's face. Babies certainly make me think about my mortality, and remind me that life itself is such a blessing from God.
Back to the baby, we have had names picked out for months and are excited to find out whether this baby will be Rachel Joanna Cowperthwaite "she is the grace of the Lord" or Samuel David "well beloved one, asked of God" Cowperthwaite. Both these names were picked quite on purpose due to the Biblical definitions. After the death of our son Joshua, we prayed that the Lord would give us peace about whether or not we would be blessed with more children. We asked for patience and peace to accept what God would show to be His will. God's grace shown to us in the loss of Joshua, and the granting of our request for another baby are so much the theme of our lives this past 6 months, even our whole lives.
I am sorry, to some extent, for going on so long, but I am just so excited to see God at work. We see Christ's commands and love shown in the lives of children, parents, grandparents, fellow believers, and many more. We have seen the true sacrificial love of Jesus lived out in the lives of those who are hurt and weak, as Christians give selflessly of those things they have been blessed with. So often we see true Christianity, reaching the lost, praying through trials, and leaning on the Word of God for our comfort. I know this is not the picture we tend to see when we watch the news, or listen about town, yet this is what I see. God is changing us day by day, molding us more into the image of His Son Jesus. Often, this has had to start with breaking the old pot. Pottery is messy business, you know. Yet, with the skilled hands of the Master Creator, we will see and live His way. It is nothing of ourselves that will accomplish this transformation, but just life through God's spirit. I pray that we continue to be shaped more into His image until what is left of the old man is totally done away with. There will be a day, and it is coming soon.
Even so, come Lord Jesus,
Mark for the Cowperthwaites
PS, for those wanting to see our children in video (mostly Naomi uploaded right now) go to http://www.youtube.com/user/cowperthwaitefamily
