January 2009

This New Year reminds us once again of the great faithfulness of God. I will complete 77 years of this earthly pilgrimage next week. Many friends have already gone before us, so we are not taking the gift of life for granted. It is true that the strength of that life is diminishing considerably, but the spirit still is willing.

A couple of matters are paramount in our minds and hearts at the beginning of this year. First is the building program for Faith Baptist Church of Regents Park (formerly Croydon Park). As you know, they sold the former property a couple of years ago and are presently meeting in a community center. The ministry is greatly blessed and the church is growing. Pastor Zaydan and his wife are very attuned to the Lord and to the needs of this vibrant church. I know of no pastor who is doing more to teach and train his people for growth and ministry.

After a couple of years of delays and hitches, the time to build is upon them. During this time the cost of building materials has greatly increased. One blessing, however, is that the rate of interest they will have to pay on the loan has decreased significantly the past few months.

Please pray for Pastor Zaydan and his people as they confront this great challenge. Pray the Lord will keep them from every building danger and trap that could beset them. Pray for the Lord’s provision financially for what seems impossible, humanly speaking. Most of all, pray that God will protect them from division and disunity as they build for the future of this ministry.

As to the second matter, I am going to run the Old Testament Bible History class at the church on a weeknight for the school year starting in February. It appears we are going to have a good group to participate. I have been working hard revising and reformatting the Guidebook for the course. Hopefully it will be done in time. We are eagerly looking forward to spending this time with these beloved brethren. Some of them are children of people who were a big part of our ministry and others are new Christians whom we look forward to knowing better. We’re absolutely excited and expecting great things for the year!

The annual church camp was held last weekend with many blessings in lives. It was well attended from the two Faith Baptist Churches in Regents Park and Blacktown. The baptismal service was a thrill to view when a grandfather and grandchildren were baptized! The grandfather’s other son, a graduate of the Bible college and preacher in the church, baptized the grandchildren. There were other young people who were baptized after giving thrilling testimonies to God’s grace in their lives.

Thanks to you, our friends and co-workers in ministry, for standing with us yet another year. You are also in our thoughts and prayers as we enter a new year filled with many uncertainties. The problems this world faces are above and beyond the ability of any human to solve (or certainly to pay for!). “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”