Today is Grant Snode’s birthday. He is the oldest child of our very own missionary family–Travis and Teri Snode. Today Grant turns 3 years old.
You may not know much because they live over seas and are new members of our church but Grant is a miracle baby. Grant was born 11 weeks early. He only weighed 3.5 pounds. He spent the first 10 weeks of his life in the hospital but God blessed and he is 3 years old today.
I wanted to ask you to pray for the Snodes today and maybe drop them a note to tell them and especially Grant that you love him and wish him a happy birthday. Their email address is snode@intoalltheworld.net.
Happy Birthday Grant from Brother Austin and Mrs. Betty and all of Vision Baptist Church.
God has been so good to us while we have been here in Cochabamba. Kevin and Beth White and their teammates Jorge and Jennie Montenegro are doing a great job here.
We were able to have a family conference on Sunday AM, PM, Monday and Tuesday evenings. On Monday through Wednesday morning I spoke to the pastors and leaders for 3 sessions of 45 minutes and then answered questions for about another 45 minutes
After that I had the privilege of sitting and talking to pastors, missionaries, and young men that want to be in ministry. It was great.
There were 15 people here from Peru. I knew most of them very well from our church in Arequipa, Iglesia Bautista Fe. It was great to see them and made me realize how much I love them and miss them. I can’t wait for October when I will be able to be back in Peru and to preach and teach there.
However I must tell you that I missed our church very much and each of you. I can’t wait to be back in our church on Thursday evening. God has been so good to us as a church and I am super grateful.
The following are some quotes about the Deputation Manual. I sure appreciate them taking the time to right. It definitely encourages us!
Boy that book sure is a good one. Thanks for taking the time to work on it to help those like me. I needed that.
The book “The Deputation Manual” came in the other day and I picked it up and read about half of it this morning. It is very good.
Thanks,
From a missionary in Brazil
Might I suggest you contact Bible Colleges (using the contacts among Pastors you already have) and see if they would sell them through their bookstores. You might even try sending one free copy to the Head of the Missions Department of schools like Baptist Bible College, MO, Pensacola Christian, Bob Jones, Heartland, Northland Baptist Bible College, Crown, West Coast, etc., and encourage them to read it and see if it is something they would like to see in their bookstore or even require as part of their course.
We also loved Aaron’s book “Ramblings.” Pastor purchased 15 copies and required all of our Deacons to read it so that they would better understand the daily trials and victories of our Missionaries. They have all finished the book and were instructed by the Pastor to give the book to someone in the congregation with the stipulation that they read it and give it to another, and so on until everyone had a chance to read it. Maybe that’s another good suggestion for the Pastor’s you know. Just a thought…
I loved the Manual. You made some really great changes in it since I’d seen it last. I thought the end result was excellent. In fact, we have already ordered (and received) 10 more copies. Our Senior Pastor wants to have them on hand in our Bookstore to give to every Missionary that comes through on deputation or furlough
Two different emails from a Pastor in Indiana.
Thank you so much for writing. God bless each of you
God is moving in Northern Ireland. We have seen God doing some really exciting things in the lives of Travis and Teri Snode. They are our own staff missionaries from Vision Baptist Church. It was exciting today to get another report from that area of the world and see what God is doing.
Stephen and April Baker are there for a few short months helping Martin Wickens. God is really moving. Several teens have accepted the Lord Jesus and surrendered their lives to Him. Here is a picture of the meeting after they got saved.
They came back to the church. They seem to be genuinely interested in the gospel. This is an act of God. I hope you will take the time to click here and go read what God is doing through Stephen and April Baker. Brother Tony was there for the start of this move of God. What an awesome privilege. April was a member of our church before she married.
Tonight I had the privilege of preaching in the Youth Meeting at the Iglesia Bautista Vision (Vision Baptist Church, Pastor Kevin White) in Cochabamba, Bolivia. We had about 30 young people from 16 and up and the average age was about 20.
Then the group from Peru came in and I was able to see them, give them all a hug and sit and talk for about an hour. That was a wonderful time.
I also went to the airport to pick up Jeff Bush–our missionary to Argentina. He is sitting right here with me. It is always a blessing to see him.
You are not going to believe the pizza that we are about to eat. It is from a place called Eli’s. It comes in a square box that is about 32 inches by 32 inches. The biggest pizza box that I have ever seen.
Thanks for praying for the meeting here and for being in your place at Vision. I was also excited to hear of the good times the men had at the golf outing with Victory Baptist. I hope we can do it again when I am able to be there.
I pray that several of you are wanting to know what God wants you to do with your life! You know that God might want you to take the gospel to some part of the world. Well here are some thoughts that might help you on the way!
1. Find God’s perfect will for your life, primarily through His Word, but also through the desires that He puts in your heart, through the preaching of the Word of God, through other Christians, through circumstances, and through a peace that only God can give you.
2. Begin praying for the world. Pray over maps of the world. Study about countries, places, and peoples until God leads you specifically.
3. Talk to your pastor about the burden and call that God has given you. God will give Him much wisdom and insight about specific direction that you should take.
4. If possible, go on a trip to the place where God has called you. Many times God will confirm that call one way or the other when you see it a place and talk to the people.
5. Make preparations to go to the field. No doctor, lawyer, or dentist begins work without training, and neither should a missionary. The best place to get this training is in your church and on the field. You need to get involved in the ministries of your church. Learn all that you can there. Then you should, if at all possible go to the field for an extended period of time, such as six months to a year, to train under a missionary who is getting the job done. (The Our Generation Training Center has all students study for the field on the field)
6. After you have been trained, you should decide if you are going to need the help of a mission agency in your endeavor. A mission agency that exists as a mere handmaiden to the church is one that you should look for it. It should not take the place of your pastor or usurp the authority of the local church, but should simply help your church send you.
7. Then, you will need to begin raising support for the work. There are many ways to raise support, but the Biblical way is for God’s people to support you, because you are (or should be) doing God’s work. Deputation is the process that many missionaries go through to get to the field. This a great way to not only raise financial support, but prayer support, as well as encourage others to get involved in world evangelism.
8. Finally, you will need to go through all of the meticulous details that will be required to live on the
particular field where God has called you, such as getting your Visa and passport, buying needed clothes, furniture, books, and saving money to buy a house, car, and other things that you will need once you arrive on the field.
Can I get you to pray for one more thing today! God has been so good to us and has done so much to get the gospel out to the world. It is His harvest and we know that. He is doing the work. I heard from Nathan Saunders in Montana this week and was impressed to hear how God is building His work.
I now want to ask you to be in very special prayer as I am for Wayne Cooke and his family. Tomorrow will be his first service in the brand new church. Hope Baptist Church will have a Bible study as they prepare to have a great Celebration service in the fall.
It is always a scary time as you start from scratch and that is exactly what Pastor Cooke is doing. Will you pray for him. I wish that I could be there with him to help him and encourage him but I have to be at my post.
I do thank God that Jeremy Hall is there with him. I can’t wait until tomorrow afternoon to hear all the great things that God does. Will you pray with us for Hope Baptist Church, Middletown, New York.
Our missionary, Wayne Cooke, is having his first Bible study this coming Sunday! Do you remember how stressful it was as we got ready to start or even how much we pray and worry about every big Sunday we have?
We so desperately want God to send people and especially the very first service! Then could I ask you to be in prayer for the Cookes! They have a couple of people that have shown some interest in the services but nothing for sure!
Please pray for them and if you get a chance send an email to wayne@hope.fm and tell them that you are praying.
I appreciate your heart for missions and how you are giving! I thank you for getting in touch with people when I give you that idea. God bless each of you!
Will you consider supporting the Peru Bible College so that others like Juan Pacheco can have a chance to hear the gospel, get saved, get trained, serve God, and pastor churches.
As you watch this video I want you to realize that we are in an urgent need to raise funds for this Bible College. Will you pray about helping? Will you speak to your church and see what you can do to get us help to help others.
If you will consider supporting the Bible College you can contact Chris Gardner or Jeremy Hall to get more information!
