Archive for the 'Stories from the Fields' Category

We had our Thanksgiving celebration on November 23^rd, and God blessed with over 220 people in attendance! It was a powerful worship service, filled with music, testimonies, and a definite “attitude of gratitude” for God’s goodness to us. We followed up the service with a delicious Thanksgiving dinner – it was an amazing day! Out of this special celebration, it is with great gratitude and great joy that we were able to send an offering to Village Missions; it is our prayer that God will use that gift to continue the important task of Keeping Country Churches Alive! Craig & Shelley Curtis

The mother of a lady here is dying of cancer and is resigned to that fact. Her daughter led her to Christ while she was in the hospital. We met for lunch to discuss her funeral arrangements, and ended up visiting for two hours. I was able to clarify some aspects of her new belief and even pray with her, and at the end she gave me a big hug. Later her daughter said, with tears, that I would never know what a miracle it was that her mother would open up to me the way she did, and how much it meant to have the assurance that her mother’s faith was genuine. We continue to pray for God’s comfort and strength in her last days, and that her husband will be drawn to Christ. Eric & Pam Bearden

The monthly men’s breakfast was a good time, as I’d asked a friend to talk about his life and how he came to believe. I appreciate that one guy comes even though he eats his breakfast at home. The women also have a good weekly Bible study group, and we thank God for that.  Wayne & Joy Deneault

We’ve started several Fellowship of Christian Athletes studies, including two student huddles and one coaches huddle, and I am leading the studies. Many of these people do not have solid Christian beliefs, and through these huddles they are getting solid Biblical teaching with real-life applications they can relate to.  I praise the Lord for these opportunities and pray that He will draw them closer to Him, either through salvation or through recommitment.  Sean & Jani Carney

We held our SonFest in September as scheduled, regardless of the rain forecast.  It poured down rain all day (in buckets!), and still about 70 people came out to enjoy the good Christian music and the food.  We praise the Lord for the Gospel given out and the attentive ears that were listening.  The seed has definitely been planted!  James & Mary Bucci

A mother and her two children recently began attending Sunday school and the morning worship service. When asked what prompted them to come, the mother replied that it was an outreach flyer in the community inviting kids to VBS. When she called to get information about it, she sensed that it was something her children needed. When her children attended, she knew that this was the place they needed to be part of. Once in the church, she was able to connect with a weekly discipleship group. At the first meeting she said that after years of spiritual searching, she finally found her spiritual home! Village Missions’ strategy still works…preach the Word…love the people. Dan & Connie Michaud

We are finding that it pays to keep our focus on the Bible and avoid controversial doctrinal arguments and politics. A number of new people have been in church over the last couple of months, and some have told me that we are one of the few churches around the area where you don’t get a side helping of politics along with the Word. I am proud to be part of a ministry that, in my opinion, keeps its focus on what is really important – the Word of God and the salvation of souls! Tim & Barbara Douglass

We are having water pipes put into Gwynne. The work crew is having a terrible time accomplishing the work. However, Tom has befriended several of them, and realizing they had nowhere to go for breaks, he has opened the door of the church to them and put on coffee every morning. As a result of this work in town, Tom has spent hours talking to the townspeople and the workers.  Everyone is outside watching the proceedings. We are praying that this visiting with others will help make inroads into people’s lives.  Tom & Becky Gerbrandt

We celebrated our one-year anniversary here in Bangor on August 18^th. On August 17^th we had a guest evangelist with Evangelism Explosion come, and we saw 5 people come to faith in the LORD! Three of them have been coming for only a couple of months, and they walked right up when the invitation was given; there were a few wet eyes! Two were a lady and her daughter, and another was a teenager whom the LORD has really been working on. She is seeking the truth and has been coming to the Truth Project on Sunday evenings. We look forward now to the discipleship process. Bruce & Audrey Chikalla

On my way to visit a lady, I stopped at a man’s house who was building a garage. He lives across from the local store.  As we were visiting, the lady I was going to visit stopped at the store, so I was able to stay and spend the afternoon working with this man on his garage.I felt God wanted me to stop and help this man. He asked me what I do with my afternoons, and I said, “I help people like you so I can talk about the Bible.” He said that sounded like a good thing to him. As we worked, we saw many people in our community stop at the store to buy alcohol. We talked about how people are destroying their lives, and I shared with him that Jesus had a better way to live a life.

We’ve discussed salvation before, so I didn’t press the matter, but I continue to hope that my small visits will lead people to accept Jesus.  Dan & Caroline Enns