November 2007

And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. (I Samuel 2:1)

Dear Praying Friends and Ministry Partners,

There is a lack of commitment all around us today—even in the local church. But commitments are still very important in God’s eyes. Making a commitment often costs us something. They can also bring blessings and fulfillment as we see in Hannah’s life after she had given Samuel back to the Lord.

Deputation Update
I recently shared in our blog about an accident involving our van. We are thankful that the woman who hit it was not injured and that the damage was limited to the driver’s door. We are praying that this will be an opportunity for Lindale Baptist to minister to Erica and her family.

We enjoyed our time at Temple Baptist Church in Martinsville, VA. We were well-cared for throughout our stay. The guest speaker was Harold Fletcher. He was the moderator for our interview with Baptist Mid-Missions last year. On the last night, Pastor Reynolds told us that Temple Baptist wanted to begin supporting us right away.

It rained most of our time in Martinsville, so we were thankful to see some sunshine as we traveled to Bible Baptist Church in Madison, OH. We had many opportunities to speak and interact throughout the day, including Awana after the evening service. Mrs. Ruland, a long-time member of the church, was a tremendous blessing. The girls loved playing with her grandchildren’s toys and touring her farm on the golf cart. They also got to pick out pumpkins to bring home.

The next day we returned home briefly to prepare for our trip to Ocala, Florida. On our way to FL we stopped at Happy Acres Mission outside Atlanta. Mr. Young and his wife invited us to visit Lebanon Baptist Church for their Trunk or Treat activities (an alternative to Halloween). Celeste and Amber enjoyed going from car to car, playing games, watching the puppets and riding the hay wagon.

The next leg of our trip took us to Ocala, FL for four days. Pastor Perez gave us numerous opportunities to get involved. Ruth and I spoke during the chapel on Friday morning, and we each shared a lesson at separate activities for the men and ladies. We were hosted by the Scotts who were originally from Jamaica. We had wonderful time getting to know them, learning about the people, the food, and the culture.

On November 7 we presented our ministry at Heritage Baptist in Lakeland, FL. Heritage has experienced significant growth and is poised for further expansion as a new housing development is planned nearby. While in Florida we also spent time with Ruth’s cousins in Largo and Orlando. We visited the Tampa Zoo, Clearwater Beach, and Epcot Center.

Our next stop was Calvary Baptist Church in Buckhannon, WV. Our hosts, the Wamsleys, have a beautiful apartment and have hosted dozens of missionaries. Pastor Tallman was a great help when we experienced car trouble Sunday afternoon. He loaned us his car so we could continue to a meeting at Calvary Baptist in Clendenin, WV that evening. It was clear from the moment we met Pastor Kersey and his family that the Lord wanted us there. A young man came forward after our presentation to commit to serving as a missionary to a Spanish speaking country. We left rejoicing in the new friendships we had made. Three days later we learned that Calvary Baptist will begin supporting us in 2008.

Dave, Ruth, Celeste, and Amber