Keeping Praying for the Williams to Honduras

Here is an udpate from our missionaries, Evan & Carmen Williams, to Honduras:

Dear Supporting Pastors;

I do trust that you are all well and rejoicing in the Lord.  Well we have arrived back in Honduras as of last Friday and how God has been blessing.  First, on the way home to Honduras we stopped off in the USA to post down our Braille paper then when we got into the country the customs official asked me what I had in my cases.  I told him that I had both my laptop and printer, and started to open the case for him.  He stopped me and said “you may go on, I don’t need to see them”.  What a blessing, Praise God with us for this answer to prayer.

Since getting the printer back home I have been working on learning how to use it and today I have printed off our first study.  Tomorrow I am taking it down to the school for the blind to have the Braille teacher read it for me to see if I have done it right.  The school has agreed to allow us to use the dinning room for the study with the students and this weekend is our first class.  The students seemed pleased to hear that I was back and today I had a meeting with them to finalizes times etc. for the study.  They seem to be very interested.  Pray that many of them, if not all will come to know Christ through this ministry.

We now have 11 sponsors for our students.  That number goes up to 13 since I was able to save $900 on our printer by buying it when we were home in Ireland.  Pray that we might get the remaining 3 sponsors before November, when we will be giving out the bibles.

Sunday was a great day.  We had thirty out including ourselves.  During visitation this week two ladies have said that they will come out to our meetings.  Pray with us that this might be so.

God is good and we continue to move forward with the building project.  An architect in Washington State has come forward to help us with our planing needs and we still await offers of work teams.  My son volunteered, since the employment situation in Ireland is none starter for Carpenters, to come out and help us.  As he speaks Spanish he will be looking after the site needs and getting the bases put in for the building as well as helping with any work teams that come down.

Deborah, our daughter was able to get her things together in time and we helped her get them over to Honduras in our cases.  So she is all set now to begin teaching in her school next week.  She has already started to help us in our work here with the children.  What a blessing to have both our children with us at this time.

May God continue to bless in all your own ministries and we look forward to what God is going to do for us all.   Once more thank you for all your prayers and support. 

Yours in Him.

Evan and Carmen Williams
BIMI Missionaries to Honduras

Apartado de Correos
P.O. Box 30116
Zona Toncontin
Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.
Republica de Honduras C.A.   

Global Outreach Mission

I am very excited about our Global Outreach Mission which will be taking place on 1-5 November 2009. 

I just scheduled Bro. Francis Cosgrave to be with us for our meeting.  He and his family are missionaries to the Bajau Sea Gypsies in Cebu, Philippines.  You and read more about the Bajau people here.

We will tell you more about them as time gets closer.

We Need One Another

1 Corinthians 12:21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

Part of my Bible reading today was from 1 Corinthians 12.  The whole chapter talks about how we are all given different abilities by the Holy Spirit, yet all of us are part of the same body.  When we get saved, we are all baptised by one Spirit into one body (12:13).  The unity we share is found in the fact that we all have the same Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ.  He brings us together.  He unifies us.  He gives each member of the body different gifts so that the whole body is edified.  We notice several things from this passage:

1. The body is not one member, but many (12:14, 20).  We are not an island.  We do not function as an island.  Everything we do in the body of Christ, the church, is always going to involve others.
2. Every member is part of the body (12:15-16). The foot cannot say it is not part of the body because it is not the hand.  The ear cannot say it is not part of the body because it is not the eye.  Every member is part of the whole.  No member exists on it’s own without interdependence on the other members.
3. A body made up of only one member is not a body (12:17, 19).  If the whole body were an eye, there would be no hearing.  If the whole body were an ear, there would be the smelling.  In the same way, a church with only one person or just the pastor is not a church.  The very nature of a church is it’s assembling of many members.
4. God is the one who decides what member of the body we are (12:18).  “God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”  Instead of complaining about who we are or being jealous of another member, we should just accept how God has made us and get on doing what He has given us to do.
5. Every member of the body needs the other members of the body (12:21).  The eye cannot say that it does not the hand.  The head cannot say it does not need the foot.  Each member needs the others.  Whether we admit it or not, we need one another.  That is why we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.
6. The more feeble parts of the body should get more honour (12:22-23).  Sometimes that parts of the body that seem to be more feeble are actually more necessary.  The hearts, lungs, and stomach for example may not be as strong as the arm or the leg.  You can lose a limb and still live; however, you cannot do without your heart and many of your internal organs.  Don’t look down the members of the church that seems to be more feeble; maybe their prayers are the reason God is blessing your church! 
7. The stronger parts have no need of honour (12:24).  By reason of their strength, the stronger members and those who are more noticed don’t need honour.  They are strong and should bear the infirmities of the weak.  A mark of spiritual maturity is the ability to keep serving God without being recognised, honoured, or thanked.  Otherwise, if you have to be thanked and honoured to keep going, you are actually a weaker member not a stronger member!
8. God is the one who decides how we are put together (12:24).  He tempers the body together, which means He combines or mixes us together in the way He wants.  There is a reason God has placed you in the church you are in with the people you are with.  That other member may get on your nerves, but maybe God has put them in your life for a reason.  Maybe God wants to use them to teach you a lesson.  Maybe that other member needs you to love them and help them.  Don’t get upset with the members who are in your church, because God is the one who put them there.
9. The members should care for one another not fight with one another (12:25).  God doesn’t want there to be any schism (split, gap, division, rent) in His body.  Anytime a body get a cut or has internal stress, that body is unhealthy.  The members are designed to help one another.  Often when one member is weak and hurting, the other members have a way of compensationg for their weakness.   For example a blind person may have a very acute sense of hearing or smelling.
10. All the members should suffer and rejoice together (12:26). A good way to know if you are part of the body is to ask yourself, “Do I hurt when other members are hurting?”  Do you rejoice when others are rejoicing? Or do you get jealous when others are blessed.  A true member of the body feels the pain and the joy of the others.  As proof, just hurt your little toe or have a tooth ache and your whole body will experience the pain.

I hope this devotional will challenge your opinon of and relationship to the other members of the body.  If you are saved, you are a member of the body of Christ, you are part of the family of God, and you and I had better start getting along because we are going to be together for all of eternity!

Sunday Report

We had a wonderful day yesterday at both churches.  At Northwest Baptist Church, we had Friend Day with a BBQ after the morning service and then an afternoon service.  It was a great time of fellowship.  It was great to see a good crowd there, and I appreciate everyone who worked hard to invite their friends.

At Roe Valley Baptist Church, we were blessed to hear a song in Swedish from some girls that are visiting the Evans for a few weeks.  Also, Hannah and Samuel Neilly gave a report of their trip to America and how God worked.

The messages yesterday were on “Saved by Grace” from Acts 15:1-20 and “Lawful but not Expedient” from Acts 15:19-35.  We talked about how salvation is by grace alone having nothing to do with our good works.  We also talked about how we don’t have to do anything to keep our salvation, but our behavior can either expedite the gospel or be a stumbling block to people accepting the gospel.

This is the final week of preparation before we start our Summer Celebration 4 Kids and Teens next week.  If you would like to be involved, just let use know.

Pray for Pastor Wilbur Hallasi in Peru

I would like to ask you to be in special prayer for a man named Wilbur Hallasi, who is a pastor in Peru. 

His wife Suhey and their baby on the verge of death. Right now the bill is only about $500 US but is climbing everyday. If you would like to help you can click on the link below to go to a paypal site where you can enter the amount you would like to donate.

Read More…

July Prayer Letter

July 24, 2009 Prayer Letter

Dear Pastors and Praying Friends,

Cali Janelle is here!  Teri gave birth to her on Sunday, July 19 at 5.10 AM.  Both Teri and the baby are doing well.  Also in July, Teri and I celebrated 7 years of marriage!

Northwest Baptist Church in Derry is doing well.  We are still averaging about 20-25 people.  One of the couples in the church, David and Tracey Laverty, have started a Bible class for the children over the summer.  The class is on Tuesday nights and is designed to teach  children the basics of the Christian faith. 

Continue to pray for those who are new Christians and those who are unsaved. If you would like to help with the new chair fund at Northwest Baptist, you can buy a chair for $25(15 pounds)/chair.  So far, we have raised enough for 10 chairs and we want to buy 50. You can send your gift to our mission board and mark “Travis Snode Chair Fund” or place in the church offering.

God is blessing Roe Valley Baptist Church in Limavady.  The church has been going door-knocking on Monday nights since the start of April.  We have several prospects who are interested in spiritual things.  We are working to build a 16 x 16 building at the side of the church to give us more space for our children’s programs.  Continue to pray for the young people in the church.

We had a mission team from Emmanuel Baptist Church in Paulding, Ohio with us in June.  Pastor Drew Gardner and team helped us with a youth revival.  God really blessed the meeting with God working in hearts.  We had a high of 52 in attendance on the last night.  It was great to hear testimonies from some of our own teenagers.

Please pray for the following requests:

• Holiday Bible Clubs on August 4-7 in Derry and August 18-21 in Limavady
• Youth retreat on August 10-12 for teenagers
• Master Clubs beginning in September during our midweek services

We now have our “Permanent Residency” in the UK, and our church got approved to be a “Sponsor Church” for future missionaries/Christian workers coming into the country.  Thank you for praying for those special requests.

Yours for world evangelism,

Travis, Teri, Grant, Darci, and Cali Snode

Children’s Bible Class Limavady

Here is a photograph from the children’s Bible class on Wednesday nights in Limavady.  I appreciate David, Matthew, and Andrew working with the children.  Join us this Wednesday for Adult Bible study, fellowship, and a Bible class for the children.

Happy Anniversary, Gavin & Fiona

Fiona and her family have been coming to our church for well over a year now, and it has been exciting to see how God has been working in their lives.  Gavin and Fiona had a wedding anniversary on Tuesday, 21 July, and I wanted to wish them a very “Happy Anniversary” as well.   Below is a photograph of Fiona with some of her children.

Happy Anniversary, David & Tracey Laverty

We are so blessed to have David & Tracey Laverty in our church.  They are tremendous friends and very willing volunteers, helping us with the music, transportation, and children’s work.  Yesterday was their anniversary.  I hope you will wish them “Happy Anniversary” and thank them for all they do in our church.  Below is a photograph of them on the day their daughter Megan got baptised.

Youth Retreat

Time is running out to register for our youth retreat, which will be on Mon-Wed, 10-12 August 2009.  Space is limited to 30 people, so be sure to register today by phoning 028 7122 6164.

The retreat will include:

• Bible study and preaching
• Football and group games
• Hikes and outdoor pursuits
• Fun with friends
• Classes on relevant topics
• Food and BBQ
• Team competition
• En-suite bedrooms
• Self-catering accommodation
• Outdoor hot tub (girls & guys separate)

SCHEDULE

Monday, 10 August
12 PM – Leave RVBC (Limavady)
1 PM – Leave NWBC (Derry)
2 PM – Arrive Retreat House
7 PM – Evening Service

Tuesday, 11 August
Activities/classes all day
7 PM – Evening Service

Wednesday, 12 August
Morning activities and classes
2 PM – Leave Retreat House
3 PM – Arrive NWBC (Derry)
4 PM – Arrive RVBC (Limavady)

DETAILS

Cost: £60/person (includes lodging, food, and transport)
Ages: 12 and up
What to Bring: Bible, notebook, towel, snacks, clothes to get dirty and/or wet in, shoes for hiking and outdoor games, jumper/jacket.
Dress Code: Knee length shorts, jeans, t-shirts. Dark t-shirt for water activities. No sleeveless shirts or immodest clothing.
Transportation: If you or your parents can provide transportation, please let us know.
Questions: Contact Travis Snode at 077 7220 6876 or 028 7122 6164 or tsnode@gmail.com.

HOW TO REGISTER

Fill out a registration form and send in your £20 non-refundable deposit by 31 July 2009. Cheques can be made payable to “Roe Valley Baptist Church” and can be posted to “Roe Valley Baptist Church, 108B Scroggy Road, Limavady, BT49 0NB.”
Get your parents to fill out the parental consent form, if you are under 18 years of age.
Bring the remaining £40 with you to the retreat. It can be either a cheque to “Roe Valley Baptist Church” or cash.

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

All parents are welcome to be involved as much as they would like by:
- Coming to the retreat as a worker/helper.
- Donating food/snacks for the meals.
- Helping to transport young people to the retreat.
- Donating money to help other young people come who cannot afford to pay for the retreat.
- Attending the evening services on Monday and Tuesday night at 7.00 PM.