Where is Sardinia, Ohio?

Somewhere between our home and Cincinnati, Ohio, we found our evening meeting at Sardinia Bible Baptist Church.  We had never been here before, but what a blessing to find a church full of encouraging Christians!

Pastor Mitchell led the congregational singing.

I sang "Here Am I,  Lord, Send Me"

We met Pastor Mitchell back in September and were able to schedule a visit for this week.  We are grateful to the Lord for every opportunity to share our burden with a church.  It is especially encouraging to us when people take our prayer cards and assure us that they are going to be praying for us!

The Blustery North

After our meeting in Tennessee, we took a nice long drive up to Houghton Lake, MI.  What a change of scenery!  This was the first time Jonathan or I had ever seen people ice fishing.  This is the largest lake in inland Michigan, right next to Higgins Lake, which is the deepest.  Houghton Lake was frozen solid and people were out fishing and driving four-wheelers on the ice! 

On Wednesday evening we were at Houghton Lake Baptist Church.  We had the opportunity to speak to the children for a few minutes about what a missionary does and where we are going.  It is always a blessing to us to let children know that they can be a missionary right where they are because they can share Jesus Christ with their family and friends. 

We were able to show our DVD presentation and Jonathan gave a short challenge from the Bible on prayer.  Pastor Milam was beginning a special emphasis on prayer, so we spent the remainder of the service in a time of prayer.  We also met up with some friends from Camp CoBeAc and had a great time of fellowship!

Tennessee!

We had the opportunity to meet up with some friends in Tennessee for the weekend.  We had a meeting scheduled in Rogersville, but nothing for the Sunday morning service.  This gave us the opportunity to attend a service at Temple Baptist Church in Powell!  It was good to be with friends!!

We met up with our girls from the summer at Pizza Hut!

Fun times!!

We are finally all together again (even Rebekah is here)!!!!!

On Sunday evening we drove to Rogersville, TN to the meeting of Rogersville Baptist Temple.  It was wonderful to be among so many friendly Christian people!  Their enthusiastic singing for the Lord was such an encouragement to us!

Pastor Barry Rackley

At the conclusion of the service, Pastor Rackley and the church voted to begin supporting us monthly!  This was a great blessing to us, and the first time a church has voted during the same service we presented.  This puts our financial support up to 31%! Praise the Lord!

Tri-State Baptist Temple

 Our first Wednesday evening service of the new year was at Tri-State Baptist Temple.  This is our second time visiting here.  We attended one evening of their Mission Conference in September and this time we had the opportunity to present our mission to England.  It is always a blessing to visit here because I have known Pastor Jenkins and his family all of my life.  We have also enjoyed getting to know many of the members of Tri-State. 

Pastor Jenkins giving announcements

Pastor Jenkins and Jonathan after the service

Mrs. Jenkins was working with the children, so we went and saw her after the service.

Christmas and New Year

We were blessed to have meetings close to home around Christmas.  Jonathan had the opportunity to preach in the mid-week service at Liberty Baptist Church in Culloden, WV just before Christmas. 

We spent a lot of time with family and friends during the Christmas weekend.  On the Lord's Day we visited Highway Baptist again and enjoyed fellowship with our friends there.  Sunday evening we attended our sending church, Mamre.  It was a joy to be with our friends there.  Pastor John Day from Ray Avenue Baptist Church in Salina, Kansas preached.  He grew up in our church and it was a blessing to see how the Lord is using Pastor John, his wife Cheryl, and their children! Lord willing, we will have a meeting in their church in the coming months.

My friend Lori and me at IHOP for breakfast on Christmas Eve. 

My friend Brandee and her little girl, Pozee, at IHOP.

My Dad passing out the presents on Christmas day.

On the next Wednesday, we had a meeting in Mebane, North Carolina.  Our friends Chris and Crystal Hill help with the youth in this church and it was a blessing to see them again. They both graduated from Crown the same year as Jonathan and me.  On the way, we stopped in Mount Airy, aka 'Mayberry,' North Carolina.  What a fun time!

Jonathan preaching at Eastside Baptist in Mebane



Chris & Crystal Hill

On New Year's Eve, we went to Chris's parents house in Rockingham.  We left Rockingham around 3:30 a.m. to head to the Charlotte Airport.  From Charlotte we flew to Atlanta, and then to Denver, Colorado.  When we arrived in Colorado, Pastor Sutton of Calvary Baptist Temple in Fort Collins, CO was there to pick us up.
We were in both Sunday services with this church.  The people were such a blessing and took great care of us while we were in Colorado.

Pastor Park Sutton

Jonathan preached in Sunday school and the evening service.

Three sisters who attend West Coast Baptist College sang in the evening service.

Lindsay playing an offertory

Our flight back to North Carolina did not leave until late afternoon on Monday.  This gave us a great opportunity to do some sight seeing!!
We drove to Estes Park,CO and then on into the Rocky Mountain National Park.  The weather was beautiful, but very windy!!  We are so thankful for God's magnificent creation!!

A herd of elk

The snow drifts were amazing!

Lots of snow!!

Lots of wind!

Pastor Sutton and Jonathan on the way to the Airport.

We are so thankful for what the Lord has been doing this past month.  Specifically, Jonathan and I were praying for 30% of our support by the first of the year.  The Lord has answered that prayer!  Please continue to pray for the Lord's protection as we travel and for many of the churches we have visited to be able to support us this year.

~Lindsay

Dundee, Michigan

This weekend we are visiting Calvary Baptist Church in Dundee, Michigan.  We arrived early on Saturday and spent some time in the local stores.  Jonathan was thrilled to see so many beef jerky stores and the world's largest Cabela's store.  I enjoyed the Silver Bells Christmas Shop. 

Sunday morning, we enjoyed their Sunday school classes Christmas presentations.  All the classes sang a song and recited verses.

The adult Sunday school class recited two verses and Pastor Brown led them in singing "His Name is Wonderful"

The third, fourth, and fifth grade girls

The pre-school children quoted a verse and sang a song, led by Mrs. Brown.

In the evening service, we presented our mission to England and Jonathan preached a message from John 1:35-51: "Behold the Lamb of God!"

Tomorrow morning we will be driving back home to Kitts Hill. We are hoping to arrive home before the next snow storm.  We have already seen a foot of snowfall this month at our home!! It is going to be a White Christmas!