The Full Circle

We were in McAdam last night and had another great night. It was so good to be with some “old” friends. After having been in Bathurst on Sunday it was good to be in McAdam. When Amanda and I met, she was living in Bathurst and I was in McAdam. So in 4 days we’ve come full circle, visiting the churches that gave us a start and doing our farewell in Zealand.

An Emotional Night

We now have our “farewell” service behind us. To all of the saints of the Zealand UPC, thank you! I hope we were able to communicate how much we appreciate all you have done for us through the years.

 

Pastor and Sister McCarty spoke words into us on Sunday night that I will never forget. It really was a blessed evening.

 

What a God we serve! While so many of us were teary-eyed and emotional, God stepped in and people responded to the word of God. I felt that there were those who really committed to have a deeper relationship with God last night.

 

I’m sad to be leaving, but we had always known in our hearts Zealand would not be our home church for our entire lives. We are excited to be moving forward in God and we are very excited for the church in Zealand. God is faithful and he will not see this good church and great pastor go without. Someone will step up in faith and help fill the gap that Amanda and I are leaving. By faith we are thanking Him for the great blessings to come for this church.

The other Brother Pio

We had a real whirlwind of a weekend. When we called this blog our Missions Adventure, we thought the adventure would begin overseas. As it turns out, we’ve had a real adventure traveling the Maritimes.

 

Saturday afternoon we confirmed that the Geary church was going to try to support us without having us come for a service. Within 20 minutes we had another service scheduled in Bathurst. We packed as quickly as we could (this time we remembered to take Amanda’s clothes with us) and were on our way to visit Brother Anthony Pio and his family.

 

Amanda was living in Bathurst when we met, so it was nice to see some of her old friends again. We haven’t been to Bathurst since we were married. A lot has changed since Amanda left there in December 2000.

 

We were present for the Sunday morning service and I am so excited that God did a work! From the moment the service opened there was a strong sense that God wanted to do a special work in someone’s life. I was moved by the worship of God’s people and it was evident that they had come to the house of God expecting to receive from Him.

 

As is always the case, God honored that faith. Amanda and I did not get to make our presentation. I felt I needed to speak for a few moments and then have special prayer. Almost everyone came forward to be prayed for. As Brother Pio and his staff laid hands on people I could see tears following from many eyes. Thank God that He had a plan for his people!

 

Brother Pio was going to do our presentation for us on Sunday night. I haven’t heard how that went but God did a work for me that goes beyond finances. The Lord has used both Pio families to speak to me. I am sure neither will know the depth of blessing they have been to me.

 Please pray for our churches in the French communities of New Brunswick. While in Edmundston and Bathurst I really felt a desire of the people to expand the Kingdom of God and I know the pastors will appreciate your prayers.

Our Last Service in Zealand?

 This Sunday we are planning to be in Geary (although that may change) and Zealand. Please pray for us as this will likely be our last service in Zealand before we leave.

Amanda and I have been working with this church since May 2001. The saints and Pastor McCarty have been very kind to us, especially in our development. There have been many times that we have “dropped the ball” trying to minister. However, I have never heard anyone complain. Everyone has been willing to let us learn from our mistakes.

The greatest blessing for me has been the ability to feel after the spirit in our services. Some times I heard from God, other times I heard from my flesh, but the opportunity to learn how to discern the two will be invaluable as we move into our new missions calling. In short, we love Pastor & Sister McCarty and the great saints in Zealand and this may be a hard service for us. We are excited to move forward but we will miss Zealand.

Thank God for His people

As I sit here typing my spirit is filled with joy for the wonderful people of God! This past Sunday we were blessed to spend the day at two great churches. Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon we enjoyed fellowshipping with the Pios in Edmundston. Pastor Pio gave me some sound advice and a lot to think about. I do enjoy being challenged in my spirit and Pastor Pio has a unique way of pushing me to consider my views through a biblical lens.Sunday evening we were blessed to spend the day with the dear saints of Millville.  Pastor Price is doing a great job there and it is encouraging to me to see things moving forward. The Millville church has a special place in my heart and Amanda and I were blessed to receive special prayer from these good people. I truly felt the power of God in the house! I have said before that preparing for this missions adventure has been humbling. I am not used to asking people for money and, while I know people are investing in the Kingdom of God, I feel like I am asking them to invest in Amanda and me. So I am always amazed at how God’s people sacrifice of their finances to help us. It is encouraging to know that people believe in us and our mission. Now for the big news! I will not reveal who gave what, but in the past 7 days we have received over $10,000 in cash and pledges! Thank God! 

A New Adventure

Well, here we go. We have decided to join the 21st century and start our first blog. Mostly we’ll use this as a quick way for us to stay in touch with anyone at home who wants updates on our current missions trip. This is a test post and if all goes well in the next few days we’ll start posting on a regular basis.