Archive for November, 2009

We are praising God as we just celebrated our 11^th year here in Springview and 11 years as Village Missionaries! I also want to correct something I wrote in an earlier “Stories from the Field.”  I (Mary) did not listen closely to Sam’s story and reported it incorrectly: The following is taken from a book of Sermon Illustrations quoted directly from John Plaudman’s Talks (New York: Sheldon & Company) p. 160-161 regarding Charles Haddon Spurgeon:

“January 6, 1850, was bitterly cold in Colchester, England, a hard-biting blizzard keeping most worshipers at home. At the Primitive Methodist Chapel on Artillery Street only about a dozen showed up. When it became apparent that even the pastor would not arrive, an unlettered man rose and spoke haltingly from Isaiah 45:22, then the crowd dispersed, thinking the day’s service a loss – not realizing that a fifteen-year-old boy had ducked into the room to escape the snowstorm, and, hearing the sermon, had been converted. Years later that boy, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, wrote, ‘Don’t hold back because you cannot preach in St. Paul’s; be content to talk to one or two in a cottage…Do what you do right thoroughly, pray over it heartily, and leave the result to God.’”

I know the principle illustrated doesn’t change in the telling of the story, but it is important to be accurate and so I apologize, and am grateful to tell the story accurately and completely. Sam & Mary Courts

Pray that our Village Missionaries might be encouraged by the above illustration.  Pray that they “do right thoroughly, pray over it heartily, and leave the result to God.”

It’s a tremendous encouragement to me when I see the folks to whom I minister reaching out in ministry to others. Case in point: one man in our church loves to run and usually runs a couple of miles every day. His run takes him past an assisted living/retirement facility across the street from his house. During the course of his running, one elderly gentleman waved at him each day from the window of his room. The man in our church always waved back, but decided one day that he really needed to do more than just wave. So he began to visit the man in his room and developed a relationship with him. He now visits this older gentleman regularly and has even taken him across the street to his home to have dinner with him and his family. His wife and teenage children all love this older gentleman and thoroughly enjoy the time they get to share with him. The fact that this gentleman is an amputee and can’t get around on his own makes these visits all the more special – both for him and for the family who gets to visit with him. Only our Lord knows whether or not this older man will ever come to Christ, but that’s not the issue. As our people are discovering, we’re here to demonstrate Christ’s love to people regardless of their response. Yes, we want to see people come to Jesus Christ – that’s what we’re here for! – but if getting them in church or saved is our only motive for loving them, that’s hypocrisy at its worst. We want to love them simply because they need to be loved. If, by God’s grace, they come to Christ, it will be because they know we truly love them, with no ulterior motives or agendas. Paul & Robbi Stroud

We had the privilege of celebrating “50 Years of God’s Faithfulness” on Columbus Day weekend. This special celebration marked the 50^th anniversary of Village Missions sending spiritual leadership to New Gloucester. Brian & Carole Wechsler were our special guests, as were all the pastors who have served before us…Homer Studenroth’s son John, Keith Hillard, and Larry Dahlborg. Through them God has blessed New Gloucester Bible Church with half a century of stability, spiritual growth, and many souls in the kingdom of God. Our newest people to attend church summed it up best: both husband and wife were searching for a church that would preach the Word of God and be a loving family to them. They found both at New Gloucester Bible Church, as have so many others over the years. Praise God for His great faithfulness through this church. Dan & Connie Michaud

Because of the long winters and the rising cost of electricity, wood burning is the choice for heat here. We are blessed to live on a 100-acre Bible Camp that always needs cleaning up from downed timber. While walking through the woods, one of our members commented on reaching out to the community with free wood. We planned a “Woodstock Jamboree” for anyone in the community to come with chainsaws and trucks to stock their woodpiles. We were able to help some seniors and single ladies with firewood. Even though we didn’t have as many as we’d hoped, many locals came into the Mazama store (local hangout) with questions and comments about it. It will definitely be an outreach event we will do again next year.  Randy & Lisa Picklesimer