We Ministered in Santa Martha? Really?!!!

Remember this? Then did you pray when we got this? Then I think you will especially enjoy the following:

Dear Pastor Bob,

I wanted to take a minute as we returned a week ago from our 2 week ministry to the Tenek Indian people in the area of Santa Martha, Mexico to say a special "thank you" to all at Morning Star Baptist Church for the toothbrushes sent our way. Many of the people we treated were among the poorest of poor in the world, which was a little surprising to us. In some villages, most, if not all, had never seen a dentist and did not own, nor could they afford, a toothbrush! Needless to say, they eagerly
lined up to receive one of the brushes we were giving out. Thanks to the generous folks at Morning Star we had plenty to pass out and even left some with the local missionary to give out in other remote villages he visits in the future.

The bottom line to this is that the dental clinic and the VBS type of ministry the rest of our team had to local children has generated a lot of good will and a number of new contacts for the local missionary. He has been invited back to several of the locations to begin Bible studies. It's sometimes hard for us to comprehend how something so seemingly insignificant as a toothbrush could be a help in opening up an opportunity to share the gospel!

So, once again, a hardy thank you to all from Morning Star Baptist Church who were such an integral part of this most recent evangelistic dental ministry to the glory of God!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Jack & Jennifer

And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward ~ Matthew 10:42

Fountain of Youth

Thanks to Jeremy Scott for posting the last three posts. Also, he ought to be recognized for running an excellent program. Though it wasn't large, it met all of our expectations, ministered to the younger children in our church, and they have many happy memories. I think we had more volunteers than attendees! But they had fun too.

If you want to see a funny shot of Steve Johnson, go to the Berryman family blog and see Pat's report of the activity last Saturday. There are some good shots. Be sure to click on the links.

September 3 will be the kick-off Sunday for a new ministry emphasis with our youth. The Chris Metras and the Bob Bixbys will be co-leading that ministry. Stay tuned.

And the winner is . . .

All good things must come to an end.

Last night was the last night of VBS – it was crazy dress night. The week ended with a high attendance of 28 and was full of enthusiasm and excitement. The excitement was surrounding two main things: 1. The conclusion to the Jimmy / Jenny story told by Ms. Karyn and 2. Which team won the competition for the week.

Also last evening, the professors tried one last time to question creation and promote evolution. One of the assistant professors asked a very important question, “How can life come from nothing?” Of course the kids were quick to answer that the only way that life can come from nothing is if it is a miracle of God, not a big bang!

It was a great week – many leaders sacrificed to be a part of it (although, I think that the leaders had just as much fun as the kids!) Everyone did a great job. So, how did the week end? Who won the competition? In the end, it was the Sand Blasters that held on to their lead to take the competition. Joshua K. and Evan M. were the two top point earners for the week and were awarded a gift card to Wal-Mart.

Thank you for your prayers and hard work.

The Adventure Continues. . .

Our kids' Awesome Archaeological Adventure continues. Last night we had 26 kids come and participate in our VBS. It was a great evening. Our focus was on God's word. He created His word for us, so we are responsible to it. The 4th through 6th graders contemplated that fact that Peter said that the Bible is more authoritative than personal experience (II Peter 1:19,20).

As mentioned in yesterday's post, the Sand Blasters had made a comeback and taken the lead. The Dune Destroyers' great effort to take the lead back fell just short as the Sand Blasters stayed on top - led by the evening's top point earner, Cody M.

The snacks were great (thank you to all that made them!), the games were exciting and the continued story told by Ms. Karyn still has us guessing what will happen next! Each team did a great job in participating in Crazy Hat Night! Jimmy W. took the prize for the Sand Blasters while Nathan R. won the prize for the Dune Destroyers.





Tonight is the last night! All K-6th graders are welcome to come. We meet at the church at 6:00 and will be done by 8:15-8:20. If any adults want to come and see the kids have a great time, you are welcome as well!

Attention!

We are halfway through our Vacation Bible School. So far 27 kids have been enrolled and are having a great time. Each night of the Awesome Archaeological Adventure the kids are learning the importance of God's creation. Even though the visiting professors tell the kids that evolution is true, the kids are learning the Genesis 1:1 is the truth and why that is important.




The competition between the Sand Blasters and the Dune Destroyers is intense! After Tuesday night, the Dune Destroyers had taken the early advantage. However, when the kids left last night the Sand Blasters had made an incredible comeback to take the lead.



We have two nights left . . . if you know any kids K - 6th grade who like to play games, sing songs, and maybe get some occassional candy, bring them to the church tonight at 6:00 pm.

If you have any questions, feel free to email them to Jeremy at pj4youth@msn.com.

Stuff Happening

This Saturday the younger people in our church are taking a bike hike under the Metras' supervision. Those of you that are interested will want to be at Midway Village a little before 10:00 AM.

This coming Lord's Day, my Dad and Mom (our supported missionaries to France) will be with us for the entire day. As we typically do for our missionaries, we will be taking up a love offering for them.

Vacation Bible School starts next Tuesday night! Be prepared!

You can keep posted on our church website news page and -- I think this is very helpful -- our church prayer concerns on this page.

A Word from the Silsbees

Happy 4th of July. We had a minor celebration here with canned baked beans, homemade big soft buttery pretzels (like the ones at the mall) and the barbecue grill cooked up hot dogs and hamburgers (magic!). We even found two fireworks pieces in a box of stuff we had left behind with a friend on our way out of New Zealand. (They are a really cool spinning kind that I had wanted to take and show my dad. I chickened out of taking them in our airplane luggage! They survived sitting somewhere for two years and we benefited by lighting the two of them tonight!)

We are currently…and still!...staying with friends. And…they are still our friends!! We’ve hit nine weeks and counting living out of our suitcases and we are SO ready to have a place to call home again. One house we lived in previously is again for sale, and if it wasn’t so close to our previous ministry, we might be tempted to buy it again. The four of us are lined up on the floor like Indians in a teepee. Our gracious friends cleared out a bedroom for us. There is just enough room for sleeping across the one side and a couple suitcases lined up at our feet. Don’t feel sorry for us. We are happy to have stayed in one place now for two weeks straight! It is an adventure we are happy to make in service to our King. Lord willing our suitcase days are coming to an end. This coming Sunday a church will be voting on us coming to assist them. Please pray that these people will be seeking the mind of the Lord and cast their vote accordingly. We don’t want anything outside his will. A number of things have fallen into place to make this ministry possible, and a positive vote will be final confirmation from the Lord that this is the place He would have us serve.

While waiting for the Lord to make His will known, we\nhave been busy re-acclimating ourselves to New Zealand, renewing old contacts\n(both believers and many in need of Christ), and being involved in ministry opportunities\nwherever possible. The church we are currently attending is very short on\nworkers, and one lady was covering the children’s program during all the\nservices. I have helped to provide relief so that she can benefit from\nsitting in on some services as well. Scott has preached a number of\ntimes, and his messages are being well-received.

Missionary Updates

Dr. Jack Mitchell

Dear Friends,

The office staff at Grace Dental Mission has completed the latest edition of the mission newsletter, The Dental Dialogue.

The newsletter can be viewed by clicking on this link: http://www.gracedentalmission.org/news/archive06/DD6-06.pdf

If you encounter any difficulties or desire a paper copy of The Dental Dialogue, please contact us and we would be happy to send one out to you.

Please pray for the team of 13 that will be leaving on Friday, July 7th for 2 weeks of ministry in Mexico, about 4 hours southwest of Tampico. We have recently been informed by missionary Fernando Angeles that all the dental supplies and equipment which were sent ahead made it over the border - after 3 hours of questioning by customs officials and no tax charged! We praise the Lord for His great faithfulness.

Specific prayer requests would include:

- Safety for the team in travel

- Quick adjustment to the culture and food

- Effective spiritual ministry among the unsaved

- Wisdom for the medical/dental staff

Thank you so much for your interest in and support of this ministry.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Grace Dental Mission Staff

Duane Scott

Dear Friends,

This is the first email to “our list” from Thailand! We are doing well and beginning to get settled in. We have seen the Lord work out many details already, which gives us encouragement for the times ahead.

So much has happened between our last letter and this one that it would be impossible to relay it all here. If you would like to see a report of our commissioning service, read some good news about our child care situation, and see some pictures from our first days in Thailand, see our website at www.scottsinthailand.org.

We arrived to a blast of heat and humidity as we walked into the Bangkok Airport parking garage at 1:00 am the morning of June 22^nd. Things have been pretty busy ever since.

Both sets of co-workers were at the airport to meet us. Actually, Ed and Darlene Weber were on our flight into Bangkok. They have been in the States for their furlough, but had to return to Thailand to take care of their visa situations. The Lord worked it out so they “just happened” to be on our flight. Nate and Maam Beckman met us all at the airport.

After spending the weekend with the Webers and Beckmans about 3 hours outside of Bangkok where they are working, we all returned on Monday to look for a place for us to live. Since traffic here is terrible, we felt we needed a place near the subway or sky-train line so we could get to language school in a reasonable amount of time. We were able to find such a place at a price we could afford, which was not as easy as we thought it would be! The Lord’s hand seemed to be in it in several ways though. Not the least of which are our neighbors! The first night we met an American man getting on the elevator. It turns out he and his Thai wife are also missionaries here. They live just one floor down and have already been so friendly and helpful! Since our BMM co-workers will not be living in Bangkok, we definitely need someone to call on for help and answers to our endless questions. We are really thanking the Lord for this connection.

Our immediate plans are to get settled in, try to relax a little bit after a couple really stressful and emotional weeks, and then figure out how to navigate this city. If you have ever seen Bangkok you know that will be no small task! We hope to begin language school shortly after Hannah’s sister Gloria arrives on July 21^st. She will be taking care of Elaine and David while we are at language school. She will be staying for one month.

I would like to close this letter with special thanks to the many people who have helped us to this point:

Those of you who have prayed for us and offered words of encouragement. God is definitely answering prayers.

The many who have given so sacrificially and generously for our financial needs. We have never been lacking for any of our needs.

The Webers and Beckmans who have helped us tirelessly these past two weeks. I could not imagine doing this without the help of someone who knows what they are doing!

And of course, thanks to God, the giver of all good gifts.

With love and appreciation in Christ,

Duane and Hannah

I Love America

In light of the conversation here and here because of this. Pat Berryman, a concerned member of our church, wants everyone to know that he has actually caught me being patriotic! And it was in front of his house! Here's the proof.

Whose Money?

What does the Bible teach about money? What does it teach about giving? How much should we give? What is tithing? Is tithing a command?

Any sincere Christian wants to know the answers. Any sincere Christian is not afraid of the answers.

Later this year we will do a special series (perhaps in the context of a mini-conference) on the subject of giving. The Pastoral leadership will be reccommending books that articulate our thinking on this important matter and we urge you to become a student, lay aside your presuppositions, and learn about this subject even before we address it in church.

We are attempting to make this easier by not only recommending the books, but by making sure that our book table is stocked with copies. This coming Lord's Day we plan to have about 12 copies of MacArthur's book available for purchase. Let me encourage you to read this book and to become acquainted with grace giving.