"Offering up a Sacrifice of Praise"

“Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Hebrews 13:15-16)

We have sooooo much to be thankful for! As I write this, Melva and I can look back at a year of amazing opportunities! We’ve shared in Pitkin CO (3x), Tin Cup CO (4x), Cripple Creek CO, Delta CO, Guthrie OK (2x), Bentonia MS, and of course our services here in Gunnison. We’ve seen souls come to Jesus and have baptized young and older believers.

The Lord has given us the privilege of holding weekly chapels on skis, serving as chaplain of our local rodeo, sharing at a hunter’s night banquet, and conducting numerous “celebrations of life”. We had a goal of visiting each of our children and grandchildren, from Los Angeles to London, and we did! Your prayers and support have strengthened us as we try to follow our Lord’s calling. We offer praise to the Lord for you!

October happenings:
We finished September with a wonderful service in Pitkin CO. For over 40 years we have shared with this church family and in each service, we sense a special presence of the Holy Spirit. Pitkin and Tin Cup are summer-only churches which give 60-70% of their offerings to missionaries! On October 11th Melva was approached by a young woman with marital problems and we were able to share the gospel with her and her husband. October 12th we baptized a young boy who shared how he had been led to Jesus by his mother! That night we held our Saturday night service in Gunnison and then drove toward Cripple Creek CO where we preached at Rocky Mountain Chapel Sunday morning. A man responded to the gospel message there as well!

Two days later we left for services near Guthrie OK. There we had wonderful services at Abell Community Church, joining with amazing musicians Barry Ward (singer-songwriter) and Russell Davis (saxophone). A highlight was meeting with longtime friends, several in their 80s and a few 90-year-olds who are still serving in disaster relief, teaching Whiz Kids, delivering meals, serving in the Gideons, and more!

An important note: Sometimes our praises have to be “sacrificial”. We may not understand what He is allowing to happen, yet we offer to Him a “Sacrifice of Praise”, trusting His perfect will.


Random acts of kindness:
While shopping in OK, a family we had never met, stuck up a conversation with Melva. They too were in bi-vocational ministry. When Melva went to check out, they stepped up and paid her bill! What an unexpected blessing, and a reminder to all of us that we are God’s channel of blessings to others.

Firefighter, Police, and Motorcycle NTs and Devotionals:
A few testimonies. A firefighter from South Dakota who attended our forest fire chapel called to say the Holy Spirit had used the service to encourage him to share his faith with his crew. He led one of his crew to Christ and had just baptized him in the Trinity River on a fire in N. California! Ten other firefighters came to watch and began asking questions about the Lord. He asked for a case of firefighter New Testaments, a case of Fire/EMS Devotionals, and a dozen copies of our book, “God on the Fireline” to give away.

We received a message from a retired firefighter in TX. His volunteer fire department decided to put together 20 “comfort bags” for folks undergoing trauma. A firefighter New Testament went into each bag. Other organizations and individuals caught the vision and over 120 bags were prepared. Six firemen from their department went to NC to help hurricane victims and took bags with the New Testaments with them! You are part of each one!

A sister in OK tells us that they have given out all the motorcycle New Testaments we sent for their motorcycle shop and need more! God is using people around the world to get His word out!

Finances:
We have the privilege of not only sending out Bibles and devotionals each month, but also assist small church pastors, missionaries, and widows of missionaries. We assist local students who attend Christian colleges, provide food and clothing for families and help with medical expenses for Christian workers. Without the Lord working through your prayers and financial support, we couldn’t do this. Every time finances get low; the Lord leads you to help. Thank you!

Family:
We give praises to the Lord for each of our family. Stephen/Joy/Hannah and Bethan are busy with school and church in London, Nick/Rebekah/Kailani took a short break to Mexico before their restaurant gets busy for ski season. We hope to join them in Edwards CO for a few days over Thanksgiving. Steve/Annie/Samuel and Abigail are busy in Glendale CA with Steve doing more video production and helping lead worship. Annie is busy teaching school. Tim/Sara/Elizabeth and Sydney are enjoying work and school in Menifee CA. Melva and I are a bit weary from all the travel and still recovering from weak voices. Thank you for your regular prayers for our family!

Prayer Requests:
For the anointing of the Holy Spirit as we share each week locally. For rest and healing of our voices and my knees following a wonderful, full summer of ministry. For the Lord to continue to show us those He is preparing to assist us in ministry locally.

Thank you so much for standing with us! May the Lord bless you with hearts of joy and thanksgiving as we offer up to Him a “sacrifice of praise”!