Friday, June 30, 2006

Many times we have a preconceived idea of how things are going to be and God shows you very quickly that He has another plan. Our ladies from Barbados have returned home. After four weeks of staying in Knoxville we realize that God had different plans for these two ladies than we anticipated. One of the ladies became ill and we had to take her to the hospital on three separate occasions. The doctors were unable to find anything significantly wrong. After the third trip to the hospital I became suspicious that her problems may not be physical but spiritual. Over the next week Kristi and I were able to have some in depth conversations, and I ended up taking her through a shortened version of the steps to freedom. I believe wwe experienced some significant spiritual breakthroughs. Both of them were able to sing with the Grace Baptist Church choir's latest cd recording. They also served at Knox Area Rescue Ministries and Teen Challenge as well as Mosaic Church.

Four great blessings were given to Mosaic this month. While we have seen people come to Christ for salvation out in the community, the first person to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior at Mosaic happened this month. It was a young man named Adrain and we are excited about discipling him and preparing him for baptism. He is a very special young man to me and he is becoming a real part of our family.

The second great gift came from the Tennessee Baptist Convention. After spending a day with us in Knoxville, they asked us what they could do for us. I mentioned that we would love to go to the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York to observe their ministry. Within in a couple of days they had worked up a budget for us and gave us the gift to attend the Pastors and Leaders Conference at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. So Claude and I, along with our wives, traveled to New York and attended the conference in Brooklyn. It was an inspiration and encouragement to all of us. What a blessing from God and we praise Him for His abundant provisions. We also want to thank the TBC for their generous support.

The third great blessing was also from the TBC this month. They extended our monthly financial support through October 2006. We receive $2,000 a month from the state convention inTennessee.

The fourth great blessing was the awesome presence of God at our first prayer gathering. We had 11 people show up and it was truly a time to cry out to God for the souls in our community and church. It was a great way to end a great month of God's infinite blessings. Our next prayer gathering will be on July 12th at Vine Middle School at 7:00pm. If you can attend you will not want to miss what God does.

I want to thank Almighty God for who He is and calling us to serve Him in the city of Knoxville. We praise Him for using us to show His love to so many who struggle to believe God really loves them. We thank you Father for your Son who gives us abundant life and sets us free. We also thank you for your Spirit who empowers us to speak boldly the truth that delivers us from darkness into the light. Jesus alone is the answer.

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