Stories from the Fields

What a blessing! We held our Vacation Bible School the week of July 21^st - 25^th. The church was alive every night of the week with activity. The real blessing came on the final night. We had a special presentation with the children reciting their memory verses and singing the songs they had learned during the week. Then I gave a gospel presentation and asked if there were any who would like to pray and ask Jesus into their heart; 12 children raised their hands and I led them in a prayer to receive Christ. Moments like that really recharge your batteries and give you a glimpse into the heart of GOD! Clarence & Marinda Blessard

Eight baptisms! One Sunday I baptized Nicole (age 10). While visiting Grandma here in February, she had raised her hand to receive Christ one Sunday morning. She spent most of the summer in Azalea and wanted to be baptized before returning home. Her mom was here for the baptism! Another baptism for 7 people is scheduled for August 24; our annual church picnic will be at Fir Point Bible Camp, and we’ll use their swimming pool. We also have 3 new church members. After 3 funerals in 2 months, we were worn out and a bit discouraged…what an encouragement these baptisms and memberships have been! Don & Vicki Stevens

We had the largest VBS ever, and seven children came to Christ! We also had a baptism for three adults and eight children. What a blessing it is to see people be obedient to the Lord. There were three sisters, a father & son, and others. One person’s mother had prayed for some years that this would happen, and it did. God is so good! Stephen & Karen McNally

A prayer request came forth, and after asking for deacons, deaconesses, and others with “elder” hearts to come and pray, nearly a dozen people came forward to lay hands upon this person and believe God for an outpouring of grace and mercy.  While enjoying a cup of coffee after the service, a visitor came to me and exclaimed what a testimony of faith that was, that people would spontaneously assemble around a needing saint and pray.  They said it was a powerful witness of God at work in the body. Since then, at least four have been prompted to reaffirm their faith and have prayed to trust Christ with their eternal lives; I have also had the chance to pray with another one to receive Jesus Christ as Savior.  Marty & Cindy Cole

This year we took a different approach to VBS. A year ago several of us attended a conference on Creation. At the same time, Candi wrote a few children’s songs on that topic. We discussed and prayed about writing our own VBS curriculum on God’s creation, but “the pieces weren’t all in place.” This year we considered doing it because our church finances had been tight; we looked to God and He turned on the “creative juices.” A couple of ladies spent several days redecorating our church. Candi & I recorded the songs and developed PowerPoint for them and about a dozen other songs. We put together a curriculum guide with lesson outlines, Creation themes, subjects, goals, and memory verses for each day. The Lord provided teachers who took the challenge and developed their lessons and crafts. Then God raised up support staff – kitchen help, a recreation leader and helpers, and classroom helpers.  The Lord gave us kids – it was the largest VBS in recent years! And the program was so fun; the kids showed how much they enjoyed VBS and how much they had learned, and the parents could tell.  Several told us this was the best VBS and VBS program ever! Three children trusted Christ and several others made rededications – Praise God!  Stephen & Candace Hill

Things are going well in Kettle Falls. A great mentoring relationship has formed between Tony (Pinkham) and me. Under his guidance, I have been able to do several things. I’ve gone on calls with Tony, helped with the music worship of the church, led in prayer on several occasions, and led communion one Sunday. I’ve also had opportunity to preach one Sunday. The time has been good to build relationships and rapport, so that I can minister more effectively in the future. Travis Cochran, Intern

God has been blessing here in some very special ways. A young couple asked me to marry them. In our first session together I shared the gospel with them, and they both trusted in Christ as their Savior & Lord. One Sunday in June, we had a church picnic and baptism. Fifty people attended and five people were baptized. I had personally led four of them to the Lord, and one had just trusted in Christ that morning. It was a wonderful time of sharing in God’s grace and mercy. Tom & Karen Douglass

It’s been very busy here. We spent a lot of time at various camps that went well, even though there was a lot of traveling involved. We had a great time at Rodeo Bible Camp, and the following week I spoke at a Child Evangelism Fellowship leadership camp. After a week off, we all went to the local Bible Camp for one more week. In between camps, we’ve had tornados, birthday parties, ‘interesting’ EMT calls, and we’ve also tried to keep up on things around here. All in all, we’re tired and ready to relax, but that won’t happen for awhile! J We’re planning for upcoming travel to conference and to WA for a family wedding.  Ed & Sarah Vesser

Recently the Marine Corps Logistics Base called us to see if we wanted some of their surplus items. It seems that they were demolishing some old base housing and had refrigerators, freezers, and a bunch of home maintenance parts including plumbing, electrical, paints, etc. They heard that we liked to help the people in our community and wanted us to have first shot at this stuff. We got about eight pickup & trailer loads of stuff, and we’re now in the process of categorizing and distributing. We praise God that our church has a reputation in the community of helping people. Dick & Pam Bosworth

We held our annual Spring Tea in May, with Lorna Powell as our guest speaker. We had a great turnout of around 60 ladies, and the evening was well received.  One lady marked on her card that she prayed with Lorna in the prayer of salvation! Praise the Lord that He was working in the hearts of the ladies here. Alan & Bonnie Klein