Mid November Update

It's Monday November 13 and we are back in our home in Lowell after a long weekend.

We started out Friday afternoon by driving to Concord NH where attended the Northern New England Foursquare Churches Leadership Conference. We had a great time visiting with friends that we have met while on this adventure and the conference was refreshing and encouraging for us. We were able to speak with one couple and give them some counsel as they pursue their desire to serve as missionaries. The conference ran from Friday evening through Saturday afternoon. The worship was great, the speakers were inspiring and the fellowship was good.

On Saturday afternoon we left Concord NH heading to Alton Maine. We had a nearly four hour drive and arrived in Alton at about 10:00 PM. We were hosted in Alton by Pastors Jim and Robin Tardy, of River of God Foursquare church. On Sunday morning we shared with the congregation the good things that have been happening in Russia. We were surprised and happy to meet several young people and couples from Bulgaria in the congregation. One young woman., named Petya, is a dynamic Christian who has worked alongside her father in Bulgaria to plant churches among the Gypsy, Roma people. She and her father have planted nearly 40 churches in Bulgaria! We hope to help Petya as she has a desire to became part of the Foursquare movement and continue planting churches in Bulgaria.

After the church service we joined the congregation in sharing a meal as we answered questions about ministry in Russia. After a long dinner and conversation we packed our car and headed down the road to Bath Maine. The drive to Bath was through torrential rains and took nearly 2 1/2 hours.

That evening in Bath we spoke at The Bath Foursquare church, pastored by Charles and Avis Nance. Bath Foursquare was one of our earliest supporters and the first church to send us a box of clothing for distribution in Russia. The night service was a lot of fun and the congregation enjoyed hearing about the work in Russia. Bath Foursquare is a great church with a heart for missions.

This week we will speak at 3 home groups and next Sunday, November 19 we will be at the Charlestown NH Foursquare church.

Karen and I enjoy sharing the story about our work in Russia, but at times we wonder if we are effective and does what we are sharing have any impact upon people. Well, this week we received news that one teenage girl was impacted enough that she has changed the direction of her life! On Mechanicsburg PA. We spoke at the Good News Free Methodist church. We shared our 5 minute video update, and a three minute summary. That brief bit of time caused this young woman to question the direction of her life and her future career choices. Her parents, were thrilled when she spoke with them saying that she thought that she might have a calling to missionary work. This is exciting and gratifying to us.