Mission Report "New Support and New Study"

Dear Pastors, Churches, Family and Friends,

Snow falling on the San Francisco Peaks

               As I write the report we are awaiting the biggest snowstorm of the season, at least according to the forecasters. I am grateful we have been able to put propane in our tank and will stay warm for the duration of the storm. It is with deep appreciation that we thank the Lord for our supporting churches and especially our sponsoring church during this time of getting settled in Flagstaff. Without all of you we would not have been able to make it. With you we have hope of a good work being established in God’s time.

               We are honored to be now representing Grace Baptist Church of Brazoria, Texas where my long time friend Walter (Bud) Meier is the pastor. Grace Baptist took us on for support in January.  Bro. Meier and I have spent many hours discussing or praying about the Bible, our churches, our ministry and our families. We were young pastors when we started and much has changed but it is good to be serving with him again in this new capacity as missionary and supporting pastor. God bless you, Grace Baptist and we’ll be praying for you earnestly.

A little harmonica hymn before our worship service.

               We are also glad to have another home Bible Study started. We meet on Tuesday evening in our home. We are discussing lessons I put together called, “The Bible Bible Study.” The person we are working with has no background in the Bible and is pretty skeptical of religion and Christianity. Through the study I am hoping to lay a foundation of the Bible as a reliable source to build our lives and eternities on. There is so much misinformation and ignorance of the Bible in these modern days that you can’t start with a common background of Christian culture anymore. The absence of Christian culture is amplified in Flagstaff, which began as a lumber town and has become a haven for new agers, retired hippies and liberal environmentalists. The presence of Northern Arizona University adds another layer of agnostic academia to deal with as well. It is gratifying to have this Tuesday night Bible Study with even one person willing to sit and listen. Please pray as we try and patiently plant the truth.

               LeeOra has found some part time work a few times a month but neither of us has seen any progress in a fulltime or even permanent part time job. It can be disheartening when you see jobs you applied and interviewed for come back up in the want ads. I want to attribute this to the ineptitude of the interviewers because I know how good a worker I would be but probably it is due to our unwillingness to work on Sundays and our being upfront about being missionaries in Flagstaff to start a church. Who knows maybe 50 is too old in the eyes of those doing the hiring. So far none of them have been older than me I’m sure that’s not a good sign. One job I applied for 3 months ago just wrote me and said they decided not to fill the position after all. Par for the course so far.

               We are looking forward to warm weather and the outreach we can begin with our neighbors and fellow residents of Flagstaff and the surrounding areas. In the meantime we are planning and preparing while also broadcasting our weekly Worship and Bible Studies over the internet. There have been some technical and format setbacks but we feel the outreach is worthwhile and are averaging about 5 live views per service and over 100 total views in the first month. This is encouraging and we believe once the glitches are ironed out we see even more viewers.

In His Service

Kris and LeeOra Minefee