Northwest News!

It is late, but I wanted to write a post to praise God about a couple of things:

1) A man from Portstewart (about 45 minutes away) phoned today to say he will be coming with his wife to the service on Sunday to hear the message on “Overcoming Depression.”  He read about us in our article in the Co. Times, that Kevin Harkin allows us to place there free each month.  The paper goes all over the county of Londonderry.  Thanks, Kevin!

2) Jonathon and I led a man named Bobby to the Lord tonight in his home!  He had been coming to the services for quite some time and began to come real faithfully during our mission.  God had been dealing with him about salvation, so it was great to see his joy after calling on the Lord to save him.  Bobby, we are so happy for you and rejoicing that you name is written in the Lamb’s book of life.

I just got this email from Bro. Layton Kelly and wanted to pass the request along for you to pray about.  If you would like to give toward this special need, just place the money in an offering envelope and mark it for “Layton Kelly Van Fund”.  We will be sure to send the money on to him.

I have to admit that I was real tired today as we have been going strong for about 2 weeks straight with our gospel missiona and our mission trip to Morocco.  Also, the time change last night did not help.

I preached this morning on, “Understanding the Condition, Causes, and Cure of Depression.”  It was very encouraging to see many in their place and faithfully serving.  Our church is really fired up about living for the Lord; people are reading their Bibles like wild men and women; folks are wanting to go visiting and know what they can do to help the church grow; God is working on people who need to be saved; and God is doing some amazing things.

We had 16 in the morning service. Some were out due to sickness and other reasons.  In the evening, we watched a 25 minute video that we made about our trip to Morocco, and we had 15 in the evening service.

Please pray for Sylvia’s granddaughter who is ill right now and they are runinng tests.  Also, pray for John Wilson, a friend of ours, who is in the hospital at the moment with pneumonia.

Let me encourage you to read about what God is doing at Faith Baptist Church in the lives of the young people there.

It is now 2:45 AM, and I am just now winding down after a very long day.  We were on the road by 9.00 AM and took some time to shop for souveniours.  At 12.00 AM, we began our journey back to Northern Ireland.  After a car, a ferry, a bus, another bus, a taxi, a plane, and another car, we made it back to our destination 12 hours later.  I think that all of us who went on the trip will never be the same again.  From preaching to a crowded room of Nigerian men, to a picnic and service on the beach, to preaching to a group of believers and unbelievers in North Africa, to a huge community plate of couscous, to passing out literature in Spain, this was an unforgettable trip.  I hope that we have everything ready to show you on Sunday night, so come prepared to hear what God did.

The offering our church gave will go toward sending out literature in North Africa.  It was wonderful time to get away, to see our friends, who we enjoy so much, and to get fired up to serve the Lord.  Don’t miss Sunday!  Come and bring a friend.

Also, be in prayer for our pastor, Austin Gardner, as he is on his way to Bolivia at the moment.

Just a reminder to set your clocks forward 1 hour this Saturday night.

This is our spring time change, so don’t forget so you won’t be late for church.

This Sunday, we start a brand new message series called, “Coping with Depression.”  If you are someone you know struggles with depression, this series will be a help to them.  Below are the topics that we will cover:

30 March - “Understanding Depression”

6 April - “Living with Depression”

11 April  - “Overcoming Depression”

Join us this Sunday at 11.30 AM!

This is the third day of our trip.  We started at 9.00 AM and began our journey to another country close by where we visited a some other friends and did some ministry.  It was great to give out Bibles and tracts to folks. 

The countryside that we drove through was beautiful with mountains, valleys and farms.  We stopped along the way for a sandwich and drinks.  We also filmed the testimony of a believer that we hope to show you when we get back.  He heard the gospel through radio and is one of the only Christians in his town of 100,000 people.

Today is Kyle’s birthday, so we are celebrating with a meal of Couscous and a birthday cake.  Kyle is a great young man, and I am very excited about what is going to do through his life and the life of his family.  Keep Grant in your prayers.  He had a temperature for several days but is feeling much better.

Our friends here are great hosts.  They have put together a great itinerary for us.  We have really enjoyed the fellowship with the believers and witnessing to unbelievers.  We have also had a great time visiting many amazing places.  We have been to the coast, to the mountains, to a cave that looks like the continent of Africa, to a place where we rode camels, and to the home of a local family.

Tonight, we go to help teach English.  We will keep you posted on what is going on.  I hope that you all had a good time at church last night.  I was thinking about you and praying for you.  We miss you and love you, and we look forward to returing back soon.

Today we had a very busy day of ministry.  In the morning, we went to preach and give testimony to some Nigerias who are living here.  They speak English so it was nice to be able to talk with them personally.  Mark did a great job with his testimony and it was fun to preach.

In the afternoon, we had a picnic at the coast with the church here.  We played football, Mark gave his testimony, and I preached a message to them from 1 John.  There were 19 folks there in total for the Wednesday service.

We stayed around talking and discipling for a while and then we at dinner.  It a great day today.  We met several believers and really enjoyed getting to know them and hear about how God is working in their life.  Pray for the men who attend the meetings who are unsaved.

Today has been an absolutely amazing day.  We started about 10.30 with a tour around the medina (old city and walls).  Bro. Aaron brought out a couple of great truths about Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone and the city being set on a hill just as we Christians should be (Matthew 5).

Before lunch, we had a time of fellowship where we all shared our testimony.  It was great to hear how God worked in the hearts of people from Peru, North Africa, Ireland, and Ohio.  It was a small taste of Revelation 5:9, “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.”

After a delicious lunch at our friend’s house, we went over to help do some ministry work and pray for this country.  Please pray for the work with Project North Africa for God to send forth labourers.  This is a country of 33 million people and as far as we know there are only 3 independent Baptist missionaries in the country and very few independent Baptist churches.  There are many people all around the country and in other countries in North Africa who are interested in receiving an Arabic New Testament.  Some of these prospects are genuine and some are not, but the vision Project North Africa has is to start churches in seven major areas that have poeple within a 2 hour’s drive radius. 

Tonight, we had the privilege of enjoying a cup of tea and snacks in a North African home.  Their hospitality was great and the food phenomenal.  We enjoyed Rife (a bread that you did in honey, jam, etc.), traditional cookies (Hellua), Mint tea, etc.  Please pray for the salvation of this Muslim family.

After the meal, we went back to our friend’s house for a bit of fellowship.  Thank you for continuing to pray for us.

We arrived safely here in North Africa after about 12 hours of travelling.  We have had some interesting and exciting adventures, and we are trying to catch them all on video to show you.  I will write more tomorrow, but just wanted to let you know for now that we have arrived safely and all is well.