August Prayer Letter

We hope and pray that you each of you have been having a great summer. Last month, while slower than some of the previous months, was still quite a busy month for us! While we were not on the road quite as much as normal, we were still able to preach and share our burden with several churches in FL and VA. When we weren't traveling, we were busy booking meetings for late 2011 and 2012. Oftentimes, Jeremy makes 100 or more calls per day to churches all over the Southeast, sharing our burden to bring the Gospel to the people of Nicaragua.

As of August 1st, Michelle is now 35 1/2 weeks pregnant! With the expected delivery date around September 1st, this very well could be the month we have our first child! We are excited, and God is preparing us in many ways as we transition into parenthood. The doctors have told us that Michelle cannot travel at this point in the pregnancy, so when our meetings are out of town, Jeremy has had to travel alone. Last week, after returning from a 1,400 mile round trip into VA and back, Jeremy noticed the car was shaking a bit on the way home. The next day, when getting the oil changed, the mechanic pointed out that the tire was coming apart on the inside and bulging out, which caused the shaking. Thank you for those who pray for us, as it could have caused a blowout.

Please keep us in prayer as we move into August. Jeremy will be spending a week in church planting school in Tennessee, while Michelle stays home in FL. Please pray that we have a healthy baby, born at the "right" time, and a safe deliver. Also, please pray that we will be able to fill our schedule with meetings and mission conferences throughout late 2011 and 2012. As always, please feel free to let us know if you need prayer as well!

July Prayer Letter

I realized that I hadn't posted last month's prayer letter to the website, so here it is!

July Prayer Letter

This past month has been a time of both hard work and accomplishment for us. We have much to be grateful for! In ministry, this month we were able to go to the BIMI headquarters to complete our second year of candidate school. Looking back over this past year we can see how much we have learned. It was a real joy to be at BIMI again to learn from the directors and their wices as well as to be encouraged by them. We were able to get a fresh vision for what we are doing as we realize how much closer we are to being on the field. We know we are turly blessed to have such a wonderful mission board. We were also able to be in our home church, West Jacksonville Baptist Church, for a week of Revival meetings with Dr. David Gibbs, Bro. Jeff Amsbaugh, Bro. Joe Arthur, and the Rochester family. We were glad that we were able to work these services into our schedule and to see our church family again!

Another accomplishment this month is that, as of July, we are "officially" on full time deputation. With the work on our new home base complete, we were able to move in this past month and now can shift our focus fully to our missions work. Michelle has also put in her two weeks notice at her job in order to have a time of preparation before our baby arrives.

Please continue to pray for us as we strive to reach Nicaragua. Pray for Jeremy as he calls pastors and churches and works to fill our schedule, as well as that we will find the churches that want to join us in our ministry. Pray also for Michelle as she is in her eighth month of pregnancy. Pray that things will go well and that we will have a healthy baby girl soon! Thank you for your continued prayer and support this year. We are so grateful to have this opportunity and we know that we could not do it without all of you behind us.

Opportunities to share the love of God

Below, is a brief testimony of something God used to open my eyes. I thought I would share this with you.

• Yesterday was a busy day. As I entered into a fast food restaurant to get a cheap lunch, I saw a homeless looking man outside. I didn't pay too much attention as I went inside to get lunch. After lunch, on the way back to my car, he called out to me asking me for help. He had a pretty bad limp in his step, and mostly leaned on and pushed a shopping cart to get around. As I came closer, he asked if I could help him get some food. I decided to buy him some lunch, and use that as an opportunity to tell him about the Bread of Life. After I got his food, I told him about the Trinity Rescue Mission, which could help him. As we stood in the hot sun, we talked for quite a while, and I got to hear a little bit about his story. He shared with me how many people turn away from him, or act like they don't see him (as I first did). He told me how he is unwanted in most areas of the city. Eventually, I began to tell him about Jesus, who he claimed to know. After a while, I offered to pray for him, which he gladly accepted. I asked what things I should specifically pray for. He told me he needed a home, a means to make a living, and then he thought for a moment and asked me to pray for "somebody that will love me." This opened the door for me to tell Him of Jesus, who loved us, died for us, and will never forsake us. I prayed together with Him that God will give Him exactly what He needs and to help him get out of this state of life. After we finished praying, he pointed out all the spots where he "lives" and gets by in case I ever want to see Him again. God used this to open my eyes to what I've been missing. How many opportunities we pass every day to show somebody the love of God...

I want to encourage you to sieze every opportunity to share the love of God with this world. I did not lead that man (Maurice) to the Lord, but I was obedient to show him the love of God and give him the Gospel. Some plant... Others water... But God gives the increase. May we strive each day to sieze every opportunity to share the love of Christ and His Gospel! Please pray for Maurice. I hope I will one day see him again.

June 2011 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope and pray that you are doing well! God is good, and we cannot complain!

Last month was a busy month for us. Between field conferences, mission

conferences, and meetings- We have been in Guelph, Ontario, Cleveland, GA,

Gainesville, GA, Pinellas Park, FL, Cumming, GA, Rustburg, VA, and Tampa, FL.

At one point, we realized that we had been on the road for 25 of the last 30 days!

We have been blessed, and God is teaching us many things during our time on

deputation:

Trust- God is teaching us to trust Him, despite the circumstances. “...all things

work together for good to them that love God...”

Patience- We must keep doing good, even when we don't see the immediate

results: “let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if

we faint not.”

Love- We have seen the love of God demonstrated by those who have

sacrificially given so that we may bring the Gospel to Nicaragua. “... because

the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost...”

As we enter into Summer, we strive to stay busy and get opportunities to share

our ministry and share Christ. Please pray that we will be able to book meetings

and mission conferences throughout the Summer. Pray for Michelle as she is

entering the third trimester of her pregnancy. Also, please pray for us as we seek

to finish up preparing our future deputation home in a reasonable amount of time

before our baby is born. Thank you for your prayers and support!

Information Packet

We are always trying to find better ways to improve our website. I have discovered a new tool that will help us display our packet materials in a much more "web friendly" way. Below is a link to a page we have made that allows to see view, download, and print our materials in a very simple way. We are still working on ways to better implement this. Check out the link below:

Our Packet

April 2011 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

It is now April and Easter is coming soon! March was a very busy month, and we are now getting the feel of full-time deputation. God has been good, and He has given us several opportunities to share our ministry throughout the Southeast. We have been in mission conferences and special “Mission Sundays” in the outer Jacksonville area, Florida Panhandle, and Alabama. This month, God also opened doors for us to set up meetings in Florida, Virginia, and even Ontario, Canada. God is good!

There are several other things we ought to give God praise for. Our first pregnancy is coming along well. Michelle is now 4 months along! We know that God is teaching us many things and preparing us to be the parents we ought to be. Most importantly, God is teaching us to trust in Him to provide all our needs, including those of our unborn child. God has blessed us more than we have ever anticipated- To God be the glory! Also, the home that will become our “base” throughout deputation is now getting close to completion.

Please keep us in prayer as we seek to do the Lords will and prepare to go to Nicaragua. We still have a long way to go, so pray that God provides the financial and prayer support we need. Pray that God will give us opportunities to share what He has laid on our heart with churches all over the country. As we travel, pray for our safety, especially as we trek into Canada for the first time. And lastly, pray that God will use us during our time on deputation. We know that God wants to use us each and every day, and its our desire to be greatly used by God here and in Nicaragua. Thank you for your prayers, love, and encouragement!

Remembering the Blessings of God

As some of you may know, over this last week I fell sick to a stomach bug, which really hurt my productivity. If you're anything like me, it's easy to get a little bit down when you don't get as much done as you hoped. I sometimes have to remind myself, that even though my 100% doesn't feel like enough, the power to move mountains doesn't lie in me. If we are to ever be successful in ministry, we are to walk in faith, knowing that it is God who gives the increase. God often reminds me of that. If we are faithful to give God our best, even when it is not much, God can take that and do amazing things with it.

This is a recurring theme in Scripture. In the Old Testament, God would take a tiny army devoted to Him and overrun a large army. Jesus took a little bit of bread and a few small fish and fed thousands. Paul, struggling with his infirmity, asked the Lord several times to remove it from him three times, yet Jesus said, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Perhaps, you may be going through a time of weakness in some way, shape, or form. Remember, that our performance in doing what God wants us to do does not lie in us giving beyond what we are able to do. God wants for us to give him our best and trust in Him to give the increase.

Yesterday, I decided to make a small list of blessings to remember. I know that God pours out his blessings on us every day, but sometimes I forget just how much he blesses us. So as the day progressed, I wrote down the things I ought to be thankful for. Even though I was still recovering from being ill, God blessed my efforts tremendously. Since yesterday, we have set up 3 meetings and a 4th which we will set a date for next week! God blessed my 100%! Also, God has given us the funds to cover every need while we are on deputation. Yesterday, we got notice that $500 had been given to support our ministry, which was completely unexpected! Though it may seem small, when I took my car to get worked on, it took 30-60 minutes less than estimated. Amen! Not to mention, I am now feeling much better than I was a few days ago. Don't ever forget to give God the glory for all the great things He has done!