1st Vision

Mission Report Aug Sep 2013

Dear Pastors, Church Members, Family and Friends,

I write this very late report letter and send it with my apologies. It has been a busy summer and time as it always does has slipped by very quickly. We are happy to report that our financial situation has improved though at the expense of our time. At the beginning of Summer I was asked to work 6 days a week instead of the 3 that I was presently working. I jumped at the chance and my hours have more than doubled. This has left me very short of time in other areas but helped us to gain ground on our critical finances and even begin to get ahead. Summer is the tourist season in Flagstaff and our delivery volume as well as the local farmers markets mean a lot more bread demand without a lot of workers since the college age workers often go home for the summer. Once summer is over my hours should go back down to something more reasonable and allow for the more important mission work to increase. LeeOra was also able to begin work as a care provider at a local church. She was even paid to run their VBS program once a week throughout the summer. She made several contacts and was able to share the Gospel with dozens of children during the course of the summer. We are hopeful of the seeds she was able to plant and looking for the Lord to use the relationships she built to open future doors.

My application to be a volunteer chaplain at the local hospital appears to be in limbo. I will reapply at the end of summer once my workload at the bakery has gone back done to 5 days or less. We are also hopeful of a chance to work at a local homeless shelter though the lack of time has put that on hold for awhile.

We continue to hold Bible studies in our home and preach in churches in the area. I am so grateful for Pastor Rudy Rios who has allowed me to teach the Book of Revelation to his Church on Sunday nights via the internet. The lessons are recorded and have been well received by the church. It is something new and different for all of us but has been a real challenge and blessing to me personally. I have also been able to pulpit supply and guest preach at Lighthouse Baptist in Camp Verde, Az where Pastor Don Randell, Sr. is the pastor. LeeOra has played piano the times we have attended and they even allowed me to play harmonica. They have helped us both through fellowship and finances. We also had the opportunity to preach for Don Randell, Jr. at Mohave Baptist Church in Bullhead City, Az. We were so encouraged to fellowship with this growing group of faithful independent Baptists on the Az and NV border. They were a great blessing to us and we hope to be with them again soon.

We have ordered outreach material and plan to launch a 2 person campaign this fall. We are hoping to meet our neighbors as well as set up a table at some of the fall festivals in Flagstaff. Please pray for us as we continue to look for a suitable meeting place. In this case suitable would be defined as affordable and centrally located. Thank you all for your prayers and patience. We pray for you all and are so thankful God has blessed us with such wonderful friends and supporters. God bless you all.