Prayer Spotlight

In the westernmost part of VT right off Lake Champlain, we can see the mountains of VT and NY. Primarily filled with dairy cows, our county produces more milk than anywhere in New England. Our town has 600 people (scattered over many miles) and about 1800 cows.

A group from our church is going to Nicaragua for a short-term mission trip August 8-14. Pray the teens can raise support and be a blessing to the people they meet. As I wrap up two discipleship programs, I pray for more men interested in deepening their walk with Christ. Evangelism is going strong; we’ve had many visitors pop in.

Two new families just joined. Three individuals have had the gospel presented but don’t feel the need for Christ in their lives.

Thank you for bringing Village Missions before the Throne of God in prayer! Please remember these prayers as you pray this week:
As the deadline in August approaches for formal applications to Village Missions, pray that God will call many to the forgotten mission field of North America. Perhaps someone reading this needs to be open to God’s call upon your life, or perhaps you know someone that could serve as a Village Missionary to a country church. The harvest in rural North America is plentiful but the workers are few! Please pray!

In the Upper Peninsula of MI, about 800 people live in the village of Calumet. This was once a thriving mining community and the primary source of copper in the world. Now the mines are closed and there is high unemployment and a large elderly population. The community is very friendly and has a pioneer spirit. Hunting, fishing, skiing, and snowmobiling build the economy.

The core group of the church is truly amazing –people step up to do the jobs necessary to build and maintain a church body. The behind-the-scenes is what holds us all together. A growing group of women meet to study the Word regularly, and a team of people are developing a meaningful children’s Sunday school program. While the youth group continues to ebb & flow, it impacts teens along the way.

Drug & alcohol abuse is prevalent, resulting in many broken people and broken homes. About 1½ years ago we started a Bible study called the Biblical Perspectives of the 12-Step Program, and have ministered to over 100 men from the drug & alcohol abuse center near us.

As we continue to grow, pray for more helpers in all aspects of ministry. We need more teachers, particularly in the Sunday School and youth programs. Pray as we reach out to the community, especially those with broken hearts and homes. And praise God for causing us, individually and as a Body, to “Grow in the grace and knowledge of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We are in a beautiful high mountain valley (1 mile in elevation), surrounded by several mountain ranges. Although in the past this was a mining community, the economy is largely ranching, logging, U.S. Forest Service, recreation, and retired. Pray that God would give us vision and direction to reach this area with the gospel of Christ. We have a wonderful body of believers, but there are many who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would lead us in creative ways to make contacts with people in the community.

We’re ½-hour from Spokane in eastern WA. Several thousand people live within 5 miles of the church; most commute to Spokane for work. Four students from our local high school have died this year. Pray for students, families, and school staff as they deal with this loss. Our church is sponsoring a marriage seminar this fall as an outreach to the community. Pray that both churched and unchurched people will benefit. Last year our soccer camp/Vacation Bible School drew about 80 kids. Pray for a good response this August as we do it again.

Dear Praying Friends:

Thank you for bringing Village Missions before the Lord each week. Please join us in praying for the following:

Please pray for the candidates that were accepted at the Spring Candidate school (7 couples) as they raise their support and as we make decisions for placement.
Pray for the churches that are waiting for the placement of a missionary. That God would strengthen them and prepare them for a Village Missionary.
Pray for God to call those He would have to serve as Village Missionaries to our fall candidate school. The application deadline is in August.
Pray for Brian and Carole as they travel this week to Colorado to speak at Morning Star Community Church in Red Feather Lakes. Brian and Carole served there for 11 years.

Thank you for praying!

From the Director

Village Missions made the painful decision to eliminate its annual staff conference following the conferences in 2008. But Village Missionaries have still been getting together for smaller, regional conferences.

These conferences, generally organized by the District Representatives, have been made possible by Peace Haven Ministries, local churches, and individual donors who recognize the need for missionaries to get away for a time of renewal and refreshment.

The United States Board at its spring 2010 meeting voted to start setting aside money for a staff conference in a few years. In the meantime, these mini-conferences are meeting a great need.

If you would like to help toward a staff conference, please go to this link.

Carole and I had the time to take in part of the Southwest District’s Summer Connection in Graeagle, CA. You can see pictures and read about the conference here.

If you would like to see pictures of the beautiful Graeagle area, including a picture of a bear we saw while on a walk you can click here.

We’re in Notch Hill, a rural area just out of Sorrento, BC, three miles from Shuswap Lake and 20 minutes from Salmon Arm. We attend a small independent church in Chase, 20 miles west of Notch Hill. Lennie just retired from the medical clinic in Chase, so life is going to be a lot different for us. Pray for us, especially Lennie as she adjusts to the loss of a position she really enjoyed. Lennie is also responsible for the donations and receipting portion of the Canadian office and for processing the bulk of Village Missions mail, which now comes to our home. Praise God for answered prayer. We don’t take our safety on the road for granted; God grants us protection every day. Praise Him for His financial supply for VM. Pray for more missionaries – we have 6 fields waiting for leadership, which puts a burden on me (Roy) as I talk with these boards. Pray we would be godly leaders, ministering grace and encouragement to the missionaries we serve.

Executive Director, Brian Wechsler, shared these praises and prayers:

Praise God for the opportunity that Carole and I had to attend the 60th anniversary of Fernwood Community Bible Church (Fernwood, ID) being served by Village Missions. This is our home church, which we began attending as newlyweds and I (Brian) was a new believer. I hope to have a link to pictures on my blog soon.

Praise God for His financial provision for Village Missions. We will be ending our fiscal year (June) in the black. I praise the Lord for all those who are partners with us in keeping country churches alive.

Because of the improved financial position, The U.S. Board of Village Missions voted to raise the minimum base salary of Village Missionaries $50, to $1700 a month. At least initially, this may require approximately $5,000 per month in salary supplement provided by Village Missions. Please ask God to provide these additional funds.

“The Anniversary that Almost Wasn’t” is the story of how Village Missions helped Liberty Chapel in North Montgomery County, Indiana. You can find links to pictures of the celebration, as well as some video taken at Brian’s blog here.

Brian comments about what the oil spill reveals about morality in our world here.

Brian Wechsler shares these praises and prayers:

Carole and I praise the Lord for safety in travel over many miles and wonderful visits to fields and Village Missionaries. Over the last week we visited Allen and Diane Sparks and celebrated the 175th anniversary of Liberty Chapel in North Montgomery County, IN, visited with Village Missionaries from the Southwest District at their “Summer Connection” in Graeagle, CA, spoke at the Canadian Fund Raising Dinner in Red Deer, AB, visited Village Missionaries Sam and Mary Hayford at our field in Alder Flats, AB, and spoke Sunday morning at our field in Rich Valley, AB, where Chris and Naomi White serve.

We praise the Lord for a successful dinner in Red Deer; $18,100 was raised for Village Missions Canada. Although that is down from last year, it is still a substantial amount to help with our finances. Almost 100 people attended the dinner.

Carole and I will be visiting Fernwood, ID, this next weekend as the church celebrates its 60th anniversary of being served by Village Missions. Carole and I attended this church before God called us into the ministry. Pray for encouraging and strengthening time both of looking back and looking forward!