1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,160 Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:27,930 --> 00:00:33,450 Jeff Dimrest, your missionary to South Africa and how many. 10 00:00:33,610 --> 00:00:36,010 This is the first time you've seen me. 11 00:00:37,290 --> 00:00:39,370 I hope I'm not scaring anybody. 12 00:00:40,650 --> 00:00:44,650 This church, Middletown Baptist Church, has supported me 13 00:00:44,650 --> 00:00:48,890 and my family for over 35 years on the African continent. 14 00:00:48,890 --> 00:00:49,210 Come. 15 00:00:49,450 --> 00:00:54,340 Come February of this next year will be 36 years in Africa, 16 00:00:54,500 --> 00:00:58,660 Kenya, Uganda, and now in the last 21 in South Africa. 17 00:00:59,140 --> 00:01:00,860 And the Lord is blessing. 18 00:01:00,860 --> 00:01:02,100 Some great things are happening. 19 00:01:02,100 --> 00:01:05,860 I need to give you a couple of updates of things that have happened 20 00:01:06,020 --> 00:01:06,740 just since. 21 00:01:06,900 --> 00:01:08,260 Since I made this video. 22 00:01:08,820 --> 00:01:11,140 And God's doing some wonderful things. 23 00:01:11,140 --> 00:01:14,740 If I can find my right piece of paper here, let me do my advertisement 24 00:01:14,740 --> 00:01:14,980 first. 25 00:01:14,980 --> 00:01:17,940 If you didn't get one, there are prayer cards on my back table 26 00:01:17,940 --> 00:01:18,660 here on the right. 27 00:01:18,660 --> 00:01:21,380 As you go out, please take a second and look at the display. 28 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:22,880 Get a prayer card. 29 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:25,160 They're free tonight, so get one tonight. 30 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:27,200 Matter of fact, I'm going to make you a special deal. 31 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:28,280 Two for the price of one. 32 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:28,720 All right? 33 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:30,880 So put one on your refrigerator. 34 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:31,920 Put one in your Bible. 35 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:33,880 I need prayer. 36 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:34,400 Amen. 37 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,360 So the Lord's blessed our ministry. 38 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:38,360 Some things have happened. 39 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:45,120 We started out in Uganda, in Kenya, back in 1990. 40 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:47,240 Our goal was to go in Uganda. 41 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:49,400 I can't find my notes here, so I'm going to have to wing it. 42 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,200 We may get out earlier than you think tonight. 43 00:01:51,860 --> 00:01:52,780 Let me say that's okay. 44 00:01:52,780 --> 00:01:53,300 Amen. 45 00:01:53,460 --> 00:01:57,980 So we started out in Kenya, working into Uganda because Uganda 46 00:01:57,980 --> 00:01:59,140 was just opening up. 47 00:01:59,700 --> 00:02:03,820 There was a man there by the name of IDI Amin before we got there, 48 00:02:03,820 --> 00:02:07,740 who brutally destroyed the country, killed hundreds of thousands 49 00:02:07,740 --> 00:02:12,020 of people, ran out all the Christians or anybody who had education. 50 00:02:12,180 --> 00:02:15,860 If you stayed around, he'd throw you in jail and have you put 51 00:02:15,860 --> 00:02:16,340 to death. 52 00:02:16,990 --> 00:02:20,390 Well, the country in 1986 was taken over by a fellow by the name 53 00:02:20,390 --> 00:02:22,430 of Mr. Yowiri Museveni. 54 00:02:22,590 --> 00:02:23,310 And he. 55 00:02:23,550 --> 00:02:25,430 He was from Uganda. 56 00:02:25,430 --> 00:02:28,510 He took the country back over and started developing. 57 00:02:28,510 --> 00:02:31,150 And that's the same time that God started working in our heart 58 00:02:31,150 --> 00:02:31,790 about going. 59 00:02:32,190 --> 00:02:34,270 So in 1990, we went to Kenya. 60 00:02:34,270 --> 00:02:36,950 We worked with some missionaries there, some veteran 61 00:02:36,950 --> 00:02:40,750 missionaries, and started making trips into Uganda to start 62 00:02:40,750 --> 00:02:41,790 the paperwork. 63 00:02:42,430 --> 00:02:46,710 In 1992, the end of 92, 93, we moved into Uganda. 64 00:02:46,710 --> 00:02:50,090 We turned the church over to a national past pastor in Kenya. 65 00:02:50,410 --> 00:02:54,210 And for the next 13 years we spent in Uganda, where we were able 66 00:02:54,210 --> 00:02:55,930 to start four different churches. 67 00:02:56,890 --> 00:03:00,570 The Luzira Independent Baptist Church was in Kampala, the capital. 68 00:03:01,370 --> 00:03:01,770 And. 69 00:03:02,810 --> 00:03:04,849 And we had a Bible institute there. 70 00:03:04,849 --> 00:03:05,770 We trained men. 71 00:03:06,010 --> 00:03:07,490 Men would come from villages. 72 00:03:07,490 --> 00:03:07,850 It's. 73 00:03:07,850 --> 00:03:12,650 It's not uncommon for a man to come to the major city, get a job, 74 00:03:13,450 --> 00:03:17,330 find work and live there all year and only go back and see his 75 00:03:17,330 --> 00:03:20,530 family once for about two or three weeks in the year. 76 00:03:21,090 --> 00:03:25,410 And of course, that's not good for families, for husband, wife relationships. 77 00:03:25,490 --> 00:03:26,610 A lot of different things. 78 00:03:26,610 --> 00:03:30,730 So a lot of our guys who were coming, they had work, they were 79 00:03:30,730 --> 00:03:32,370 working their farms, their land. 80 00:03:32,450 --> 00:03:35,130 And we would have them come in for a week each month. 81 00:03:35,130 --> 00:03:38,570 They'd come in Sunday afternoon or Monday morning, Monday 82 00:03:38,570 --> 00:03:43,090 evening we'd start classes and teach a block section, section through 83 00:03:43,250 --> 00:03:45,450 Friday morning and train them. 84 00:03:45,450 --> 00:03:48,690 And out of that church, we helped start three other churches 85 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:50,080 in Uganda. 86 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:54,240 And those churches, I've been to all three of those churches. 87 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:56,400 The fourth one I haven't gotten back to yet. 88 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:58,480 My son is there, Seth. 89 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:00,160 He and his family are missionaries there. 90 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,760 Of course, our kids were raised in Uganda, so that's home 91 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:04,320 for him. 92 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:09,120 And so brother Vincent at Luzer is still going strong. 93 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:14,600 Matter of fact, this last year at Christmas, the Rongoro Independent 94 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,650 Baptist Church invited me to come back for their 25th anniversary. 95 00:04:18,890 --> 00:04:22,650 And that was exciting to me that see a church continue on like 96 00:04:22,650 --> 00:04:22,970 that. 97 00:04:22,970 --> 00:04:26,450 They have men, their training, and have gone out and started Bible 98 00:04:26,450 --> 00:04:27,930 studies in some of the villages. 99 00:04:28,170 --> 00:04:30,850 And some of the other missionaries who have started churches, 100 00:04:30,850 --> 00:04:32,810 those pastors are all working together. 101 00:04:33,450 --> 00:04:37,650 And so the Lord's blessing, the ministry there in Uganda, it's 102 00:04:37,650 --> 00:04:38,170 going on. 103 00:04:38,250 --> 00:04:41,290 And my son is able to kind of see and see how things are going 104 00:04:41,290 --> 00:04:42,650 with some of those other churches. 105 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:47,120 In 2005, the Lord led us to South Africa. 106 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:52,840 Now, my wife had some health problems and she was born with scoliosis. 107 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:54,160 You know what scoliosis is? 108 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:55,360 Curvature of the spine. 109 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:00,920 And after they did surgery on her, before we went to Uganda, they 110 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,120 did surgery and she was an inch and a half taller, so I had 111 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:06,800 to adjust my lips, if you know what I mean. 112 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,240 Kids kissing her on the, on the chin now, but. 113 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:15,680 But with that scoliosis came arthritis over the years, and she 114 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:16,520 had several other. 115 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:17,080 She was. 116 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:18,360 She became diabetic. 117 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:19,920 Uganda was a hard life. 118 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,080 Even though we were young and our kids were young, it was an adventure, 119 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,360 but it got to the place where the doctors. 120 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:30,560 We made several trips to South Africa for medical things. 121 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:34,480 And the doctor said that you folks need to be at a place where 122 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,750 there's a hospital at the next exit, not the next country. 123 00:05:38,710 --> 00:05:42,630 So we thought, we thought when we got old, like brother Jeff over 124 00:05:42,630 --> 00:05:46,830 here, I know he's a good guy because his name's Jeff. 125 00:05:46,830 --> 00:05:47,430 Amen. 126 00:05:47,830 --> 00:05:49,390 That, that's my name too, by the way. 127 00:05:49,390 --> 00:05:51,390 Just so he's good looking too, isn't he? 128 00:05:51,390 --> 00:05:52,510 Most Jeffs are good looking. 129 00:05:52,510 --> 00:05:53,110 I don't know. 130 00:05:53,350 --> 00:05:54,790 Anyway, got to do something. 131 00:05:54,790 --> 00:05:56,710 This crowd's dead tonight, you know. 132 00:05:57,110 --> 00:05:58,110 All right, there we go. 133 00:05:58,110 --> 00:05:59,030 Now you're alive. 134 00:05:59,190 --> 00:06:00,710 So he said you need. 135 00:06:00,790 --> 00:06:03,610 And in South Africa, it's a very modern country. 136 00:06:03,610 --> 00:06:06,490 I tell people that if you come to South Africa and visit me and 137 00:06:06,490 --> 00:06:07,570 I want to invite you to come. 138 00:06:08,210 --> 00:06:11,890 And you were, you didn't realize that you were riding on the 139 00:06:11,970 --> 00:06:15,210 other side of the road with the steering wheel on the other side 140 00:06:15,210 --> 00:06:20,330 of the car and you didn't hear them speaking in Zulu or their British 141 00:06:20,330 --> 00:06:20,850 English. 142 00:06:21,570 --> 00:06:23,330 You would think you were in America. 143 00:06:23,730 --> 00:06:28,180 Because we have great hospitals, we have good roads, we 144 00:06:28,180 --> 00:06:34,580 have malls, we have Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's, Pizza 145 00:06:34,580 --> 00:06:35,820 Hut, Burger King. 146 00:06:36,780 --> 00:06:40,620 About two years ago, they brought in Krispy Kreme doughnut. 147 00:06:41,740 --> 00:06:43,020 You can tell, can't you? 148 00:06:44,700 --> 00:06:47,260 South Africa is a very modern country, the most modern country 149 00:06:47,260 --> 00:06:48,620 on the African continent. 150 00:06:49,420 --> 00:06:54,660 But at the same time, you can just go to certain areas and realize 151 00:06:54,660 --> 00:06:56,360 that you're still in Africa. 152 00:06:57,400 --> 00:06:58,440 So we, we. 153 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,360 In 2005, we moved down there. 154 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,080 We started working with this church we are at now. 155 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:05,000 I'm at now Lighthouse Baptist Church. 156 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:06,760 They were about ready to close. 157 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:10,480 They hadn't had anybody to help pastor or missionary for two 158 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:10,760 years. 159 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:15,240 And they ask, and, and they asked me to come and help them. 160 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,240 Now when we were getting ready to leave Uganda and it was hard to 161 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,080 leave, it wasn't hard to leave because we didn't have electricity 162 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:25,560 all the time and we didn't always have running water or hot 163 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:25,800 water. 164 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:27,240 It wasn't hard to leave those things. 165 00:07:27,930 --> 00:07:29,130 It was hard to leave the people. 166 00:07:29,290 --> 00:07:30,730 It was very difficult. 167 00:07:31,370 --> 00:07:32,570 But we knew it was time. 168 00:07:32,570 --> 00:07:34,770 And those churches, matter of fact, the men of the church, when 169 00:07:34,770 --> 00:07:38,930 I told them what we were doing and that we needed to move and, and 170 00:07:38,930 --> 00:07:42,010 I always tell the church, I'm not here forever. 171 00:07:43,050 --> 00:07:46,250 One day you're going to have a national pastor and I'm going to 172 00:07:46,250 --> 00:07:48,410 move on another place and start another church. 173 00:07:48,570 --> 00:07:52,170 And they said, pastor Jeff, we're ready now. 174 00:07:52,410 --> 00:07:53,370 We can go on. 175 00:07:54,190 --> 00:07:55,790 And that's exactly what you want to hear? 176 00:07:56,190 --> 00:07:57,630 So we moved to South Africa. 177 00:07:57,630 --> 00:08:00,430 We were going to Durban, to an area called. 178 00:08:00,670 --> 00:08:01,710 Well, we didn't know where. 179 00:08:01,710 --> 00:08:03,950 We knew Durban was the major city. 180 00:08:04,270 --> 00:08:06,470 There's about 4 million people in Durban. 181 00:08:06,470 --> 00:08:07,790 It's on the Indian Ocean. 182 00:08:08,590 --> 00:08:09,310 We have the. 183 00:08:10,030 --> 00:08:14,270 We have the largest Indian population outside of India living 184 00:08:14,270 --> 00:08:15,230 in Durban. 185 00:08:15,710 --> 00:08:19,070 And so we have quite a large group of people we can work with. 186 00:08:19,070 --> 00:08:24,660 We have in South Africa, we have, I think, 13 different recognized 187 00:08:24,660 --> 00:08:25,260 languages. 188 00:08:26,220 --> 00:08:28,380 Nine of those are tribal languages. 189 00:08:28,620 --> 00:08:30,980 They speak English because of the British. 190 00:08:30,980 --> 00:08:33,060 They speak Afrikaans because of the Dutch. 191 00:08:33,060 --> 00:08:33,580 German. 192 00:08:33,900 --> 00:08:35,500 We have Portuguese there. 193 00:08:35,660 --> 00:08:37,380 English is the main language. 194 00:08:37,380 --> 00:08:38,500 That's the trade language. 195 00:08:38,500 --> 00:08:39,820 That's what the government uses. 196 00:08:39,980 --> 00:08:42,620 So when you come and visit, you'll have no trouble getting along. 197 00:08:42,620 --> 00:08:43,180 Amen. 198 00:08:43,820 --> 00:08:46,460 And so we are working with some folks. 199 00:08:46,620 --> 00:08:48,330 Our church, it was in a. 200 00:08:48,330 --> 00:08:49,090 In a white area. 201 00:08:49,090 --> 00:08:50,210 It was an all white church. 202 00:08:50,210 --> 00:08:52,890 When I first went, let me just tell you how God works. 203 00:08:52,890 --> 00:08:54,930 Would it be all right if I take this jacket off? 204 00:08:58,210 --> 00:09:01,490 Preachers watching tonight over my microphone? 205 00:09:06,690 --> 00:09:11,570 So let me just tell you, how can you hear me? 206 00:09:15,260 --> 00:09:18,820 So we started praying about going to South Africa where God wanted 207 00:09:18,820 --> 00:09:22,140 us, and we knew God wanted us in the Durban area. 208 00:09:22,380 --> 00:09:25,660 Now, we had always worked with black Africans, all right? 209 00:09:25,740 --> 00:09:27,580 That's what we were comfortable with. 210 00:09:28,620 --> 00:09:31,900 Well, I wrote a friend and he said, and. 211 00:09:32,060 --> 00:09:33,300 And this is kind of in the. 212 00:09:33,300 --> 00:09:36,140 In the realm of finding God's will. 213 00:09:37,740 --> 00:09:39,980 I wrote a friend, a missionary friend down there, and asked him, 214 00:09:39,980 --> 00:09:41,660 I said, what's it like living in South Africa? 215 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:44,800 You know, what's rent, you know, what about groceries? 216 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,280 My wife wants to know if she can get her hair done, you know, 217 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:48,440 all those important things. 218 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,160 So he wrote me back and filled all that information out for me and 219 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:54,720 even sent me a map where the mall was and where you could get 220 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:55,320 things done. 221 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:57,560 And he said to me, you know, there's a. 222 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:00,400 And he put it this way, a white South African church, because, 223 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:04,200 you know, South Africa had a big racial problem called apartheid. 224 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,840 And he said, why don't you think about coming and helping them? 225 00:10:10,230 --> 00:10:10,990 I said, okay. 226 00:10:10,990 --> 00:10:13,270 I said, in my mind, okay, I'll think about it. 227 00:10:13,270 --> 00:10:14,430 Okay, I thought about it. 228 00:10:14,430 --> 00:10:18,710 That's how quick it went through my mind, because I was comfortable 229 00:10:18,790 --> 00:10:20,710 working with the group of people I was working. 230 00:10:22,390 --> 00:10:26,310 So I wrote another missionary and I asked him all the same questions. 231 00:10:27,510 --> 00:10:31,670 And he sent me back all the information. 232 00:10:31,750 --> 00:10:36,200 He said, hey, there's a church here that for two years they've not 233 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:37,320 had anybody to help them. 234 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:38,720 No pastor or missionary. 235 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,760 He said, why don't you pray about Coming and helping them, now 236 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:43,920 that's a little more serious. 237 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:48,040 So I said, I said, okay, I'll pray about it. 238 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:49,840 I said, lord, as you want me to go, I'll go that. 239 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:53,080 Amen, you know, just that quick because I thought I knew what 240 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:53,920 God wanted. 241 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:59,440 And then I, I thought, well, you know, maybe if the Lord would 242 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:04,190 have somebody else contact me, that I would take this serious. 243 00:11:05,150 --> 00:11:07,710 Well, you ever, you ever think you got one up on God? 244 00:11:08,110 --> 00:11:09,390 You know, is it. 245 00:11:09,630 --> 00:11:13,470 I didn't know anybody else down that area, South Africa, so 246 00:11:13,470 --> 00:11:15,310 there was nobody who could contact me. 247 00:11:16,670 --> 00:11:19,550 What I didn't realize was these guys had been talking with 248 00:11:19,550 --> 00:11:20,910 the guys in the church. 249 00:11:21,550 --> 00:11:24,350 And one of the men in church sent me an email the very next day 250 00:11:24,350 --> 00:11:28,270 that I prayed that I said that he said, would you consider coming 251 00:11:28,270 --> 00:11:29,150 and helping us? 252 00:11:30,380 --> 00:11:34,380 And so I kind of flew through my fleece out there and got answered. 253 00:11:35,260 --> 00:11:36,900 So we, we. 254 00:11:36,900 --> 00:11:38,620 We moved to Durban. 255 00:11:39,100 --> 00:11:40,900 And like I said, it's right on the Indian Ocean. 256 00:11:40,900 --> 00:11:42,940 We're about 30 minutes from the Indian Ocean. 257 00:11:44,060 --> 00:11:46,460 And we'd never been there until we moved there. 258 00:11:46,540 --> 00:11:49,900 We shipped our stuff from Uganda down and we started working 259 00:11:49,900 --> 00:11:51,820 with the Lighthouse Baptist Church. 260 00:11:52,220 --> 00:11:55,020 At that time, it was called Village Bible Church. 261 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:56,440 But we. 262 00:11:56,680 --> 00:12:00,840 They changed the name because they were getting con people were 263 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,520 getting confused about the Hillcrest Baptist Church. 264 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:06,000 I said, well, we got to put Baptist back in the name because 265 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:06,760 I'm a Baptist. 266 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:09,080 And by the way, we. 267 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:12,040 If we get out there and knock doors and hand out some tracts, they'll 268 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:12,560 know we're here. 269 00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:13,560 They'll know we're different. 270 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:18,000 So over the last several years we've been with this church, it's 271 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:18,440 changed. 272 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:20,520 The congregation has completely changed. 273 00:12:21,010 --> 00:12:23,890 Today we have white South Africans coming. 274 00:12:24,050 --> 00:12:28,170 We have Afrikaners, those who speak the Dutch, German who come, 275 00:12:28,170 --> 00:12:28,850 and English. 276 00:12:29,250 --> 00:12:30,770 We have Zulu who come. 277 00:12:30,770 --> 00:12:32,930 That's the main tribe there we're working with. 278 00:12:33,410 --> 00:12:35,490 We have people from Malawi come. 279 00:12:36,050 --> 00:12:37,970 We have a group called Coloreds. 280 00:12:38,290 --> 00:12:42,050 The Coloreds are a complete distinct racial group. 281 00:12:42,370 --> 00:12:45,810 Their own ethnicity, their own culture, their own food. 282 00:12:45,970 --> 00:12:47,330 They speak Afrikaans. 283 00:12:47,730 --> 00:12:52,050 They're a light brown people and have been in South Africa for 284 00:12:52,050 --> 00:12:52,930 many, many years. 285 00:12:53,490 --> 00:12:54,450 Some of those come. 286 00:12:54,610 --> 00:12:56,450 So we have a mixed church. 287 00:12:56,770 --> 00:12:58,050 Before, it was just white. 288 00:12:58,050 --> 00:13:01,170 Not that they wouldn't let them come, but they just didn't invite 289 00:13:01,170 --> 00:13:01,490 them. 290 00:13:02,770 --> 00:13:03,929 So God has done a work. 291 00:13:03,929 --> 00:13:04,530 And you know what? 292 00:13:04,530 --> 00:13:07,490 The love of Christ changes people's hearts. 293 00:13:07,970 --> 00:13:12,610 When we have the right kind of love for the Lord Jesus Christ, God 294 00:13:12,610 --> 00:13:14,370 will use that to change hearts. 295 00:13:14,570 --> 00:13:17,290 So some things that are happening at our church, we have, 296 00:13:17,290 --> 00:13:19,050 we have the Recovery Ministry. 297 00:13:19,610 --> 00:13:24,370 We have a program on Friday nights for addictions, bad habits 298 00:13:24,370 --> 00:13:25,930 and destructive behavior. 299 00:13:26,090 --> 00:13:28,490 Now, it's just us here tonight, so I want to ask this question. 300 00:13:28,810 --> 00:13:32,290 Anybody here have any addictions, bad habits or destructive 301 00:13:32,290 --> 00:13:32,730 behavior? 302 00:13:33,850 --> 00:13:34,410 Okay. 303 00:13:34,410 --> 00:13:35,690 Three of us are telling the truth. 304 00:13:35,690 --> 00:13:37,130 The rest of you, a bunch of liars. 305 00:13:38,090 --> 00:13:41,030 No, we all have something we can work on, don't we? 306 00:13:41,580 --> 00:13:45,540 And what our program really is, is a discipleship program to 307 00:13:45,540 --> 00:13:49,540 teach people how to become more like Jesus Christ, how to build 308 00:13:49,540 --> 00:13:52,660 a relationship with Jesus Christ. 309 00:13:52,660 --> 00:13:54,660 And that's what we need if we're going to be the right kind 310 00:13:54,660 --> 00:13:55,420 of Christian. 311 00:13:55,580 --> 00:14:00,900 We need to learn how to love and grow and learn as Jesus would 312 00:14:00,900 --> 00:14:01,740 have us learn. 313 00:14:02,220 --> 00:14:07,660 And if we, as we do that, he becomes in more control of our life 314 00:14:07,660 --> 00:14:08,620 than we do. 315 00:14:09,490 --> 00:14:10,010 Now we have. 316 00:14:10,010 --> 00:14:14,530 We've been having about 20 men and ladies come, some of them from 317 00:14:14,530 --> 00:14:16,690 off the street, some of them from other churches. 318 00:14:16,850 --> 00:14:19,730 I have three other missionaries, a pastor, national 319 00:14:19,730 --> 00:14:21,890 pastor, who helped me on Friday nights. 320 00:14:21,890 --> 00:14:24,130 And while I'm away, they're carrying on. 321 00:14:25,090 --> 00:14:30,050 But just before I left, the folks where we've been renting office 322 00:14:30,050 --> 00:14:33,650 building where we have our church, and we have another room 323 00:14:33,650 --> 00:14:38,060 for Sunday school, and there's other offices in this same place 324 00:14:38,060 --> 00:14:39,700 that are down the hall and locked up. 325 00:14:39,700 --> 00:14:39,980 And. 326 00:14:40,220 --> 00:14:44,660 And about a month before I was ready to come back in July, June, 327 00:14:44,660 --> 00:14:48,820 July, they let me know that we needed to quit having our recovery 328 00:14:48,820 --> 00:14:50,060 program at the church. 329 00:14:50,940 --> 00:14:56,060 They were concerned that these guys are going to start stealing 330 00:14:56,060 --> 00:14:57,420 from the other offices. 331 00:14:58,220 --> 00:15:00,780 Well, first of all, we've been meeting and doing this for about 332 00:15:00,780 --> 00:15:03,020 seven years now, and they've not stolen anything. 333 00:15:03,740 --> 00:15:05,900 And then I thought, well, lock your offices. 334 00:15:06,300 --> 00:15:07,220 You know what? 335 00:15:07,220 --> 00:15:07,940 Common sense. 336 00:15:07,940 --> 00:15:08,620 Lock the office. 337 00:15:08,780 --> 00:15:11,140 But they said we couldn't have it there, and they were asking us 338 00:15:11,140 --> 00:15:11,660 to move it. 339 00:15:11,660 --> 00:15:12,780 They were asking us to move. 340 00:15:13,500 --> 00:15:19,180 So I got the official letter and I very nicely, I replied back 341 00:15:19,180 --> 00:15:23,100 and I said, thank you for allowing us to be here for all these 342 00:15:23,100 --> 00:15:23,380 years. 343 00:15:23,380 --> 00:15:27,180 I kind of emphasized, all these years and we will be out in 344 00:15:27,180 --> 00:15:27,820 30 days. 345 00:15:29,270 --> 00:15:30,110 So we started looking. 346 00:15:30,110 --> 00:15:32,390 We could not find anything in our price range. 347 00:15:32,390 --> 00:15:35,670 Now, our church now, right now, they pay their own rent. 348 00:15:35,750 --> 00:15:38,910 The church tithes and offerings, pay their own rent and 349 00:15:38,910 --> 00:15:40,470 electricity and utilities. 350 00:15:41,030 --> 00:15:45,190 And we're able to support two missionaries, and we also are able 351 00:15:45,190 --> 00:15:48,910 to save a little in the bank account, but we couldn't find anything. 352 00:15:48,910 --> 00:15:51,910 Either it was too big and too much money, or it was too small, 353 00:15:51,910 --> 00:15:54,310 not enough space for us to rent. 354 00:15:54,310 --> 00:15:56,070 So we just didn't know what we're going to do. 355 00:15:57,130 --> 00:15:59,330 So they sent me an email after I sent my. 356 00:15:59,330 --> 00:16:02,330 They said well I tell you what, we will give you three months 357 00:16:02,410 --> 00:16:04,170 that you can stay and find a place. 358 00:16:04,570 --> 00:16:07,770 Well, that didn't help me because in 30 days I'm leaving, coming 359 00:16:07,770 --> 00:16:08,570 back to the state. 360 00:16:09,210 --> 00:16:12,369 But at the final part of the letters they said but if you, if 361 00:16:12,369 --> 00:16:15,770 you find a place to put your recovery ministry and they still 362 00:16:15,770 --> 00:16:17,850 want it out, you can stay there for the church. 363 00:16:17,850 --> 00:16:21,690 So you know, you kind of put in a quandary in a delirium. 364 00:16:21,690 --> 00:16:22,530 You don't know what to do. 365 00:16:22,530 --> 00:16:23,760 You trust in God. 366 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:25,440 You're looking well. 367 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:27,280 We have a ministry on Wednesday. 368 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,520 Our Bible study on Wednesday night is out at a different property 369 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:32,160 at one of our members houses. 370 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:37,520 Brother Andy, he has his house, he has a big factory on that 371 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:38,080 property. 372 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:40,120 I've built a house below it. 373 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:42,240 And you saw a picture of the print shop. 374 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,400 We built the print shop on that property. 375 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:48,000 So I suggested to the men that we move even though it's further 376 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:48,720 away from town. 377 00:16:49,150 --> 00:16:51,630 We moved the Bible study to the print shop. 378 00:16:51,630 --> 00:16:52,990 I mean the recovery program. 379 00:16:53,630 --> 00:16:56,710 So we told our guys on the streets this is where we're going 380 00:16:56,710 --> 00:16:57,030 to be. 381 00:16:57,030 --> 00:17:00,510 We'll pick you up here at this time and we'll bring you back here 382 00:17:00,510 --> 00:17:02,110 at this spot when we're done. 383 00:17:02,510 --> 00:17:05,910 And so we've lost some few guys but we're meeting out in the 384 00:17:05,910 --> 00:17:08,070 print shop now on Friday night. 385 00:17:08,070 --> 00:17:11,670 Every, every Saturday morning I get pictures from the guys who 386 00:17:11,670 --> 00:17:14,990 are running it of who's come and how many come and what's happened 387 00:17:14,990 --> 00:17:18,330 and who's been preaching and doing the different things in the 388 00:17:18,330 --> 00:17:19,410 recovery program. 389 00:17:19,810 --> 00:17:23,250 And a couple of our guys from the streets are coming. 390 00:17:23,890 --> 00:17:28,490 Matter of fact, just before I left, when we started, we, we were 391 00:17:28,490 --> 00:17:32,050 coming out, they were coming out to the property there about 7 392 00:17:32,050 --> 00:17:33,970 o' clock on, on Friday night. 393 00:17:34,210 --> 00:17:38,050 And I pull up the gate about 5 o' clock where we live every, everything 394 00:17:38,370 --> 00:17:41,970 most places are behind walls and fences because of security. 395 00:17:42,690 --> 00:17:44,290 And we have a big metal gate. 396 00:17:44,290 --> 00:17:47,470 And I pull up to the gate and, and I see this fellow by the name 397 00:17:47,470 --> 00:17:48,590 of Sia Bonga. 398 00:17:49,230 --> 00:17:52,030 See a bonga in Zulu means thank you. 399 00:17:54,030 --> 00:17:55,710 So we call him Sia for short. 400 00:17:56,910 --> 00:17:59,790 I pull up and it's been raining all day long. 401 00:18:00,510 --> 00:18:04,430 And he stand there and he's soaked, drink, soaking wet, drenched. 402 00:18:05,070 --> 00:18:05,990 And I said see you. 403 00:18:05,990 --> 00:18:06,630 What are you doing? 404 00:18:06,630 --> 00:18:09,990 He said well I walked from town because I didn't want to be 405 00:18:09,990 --> 00:18:12,680 late tonight for the RU program. 406 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:17,680 He walked about an hour and a half in the rain to get there that 407 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:18,040 night. 408 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:21,400 Almost every picture they send me on Saturday morning. 409 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:22,040 See ya. 410 00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:27,320 Is coming on Friday nights to the recovery program and doing his 411 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:29,080 challenges, doing the homework. 412 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:32,240 And I tell you what, God's starting to bless some of these guys. 413 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:35,280 There's another guy by the name of Nick who comes, have several 414 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:37,000 church members and others who come. 415 00:18:37,550 --> 00:18:39,910 And so God's blessing, that ministry. 416 00:18:39,910 --> 00:18:45,350 And I tell you that because when you pray and you give so we 417 00:18:45,350 --> 00:18:48,910 can go, I believe it's fruit that abounds to your account. 418 00:18:48,910 --> 00:18:54,110 The Bible says you have a part in people getting saved in Africa 419 00:18:54,190 --> 00:18:54,590 today. 420 00:18:55,150 --> 00:18:56,830 So we have the print shop there. 421 00:18:57,630 --> 00:19:03,110 We've shipped 14 containers of literature and Bibles and New Testaments 422 00:19:03,110 --> 00:19:08,650 and John and Romans and tracts in these last 35 years in 12 different 423 00:19:08,650 --> 00:19:09,290 languages. 424 00:19:09,850 --> 00:19:13,770 Those 12 different languages have gotten into 14 different African 425 00:19:13,770 --> 00:19:14,090 countries. 426 00:19:14,170 --> 00:19:18,610 When I was in Uganda, we sent scriptures to Tanzania and Kenya 427 00:19:18,610 --> 00:19:22,610 and the Congo and I think Rwanda, South Africa, where they've 428 00:19:22,610 --> 00:19:30,930 gone into Malawi and Botswana and Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia, 429 00:19:30,930 --> 00:19:35,870 Angola, Zimbabwe, Scripture, and then languages in our country. 430 00:19:36,350 --> 00:19:38,910 We've been able to get some tracks in some of those languages, 431 00:19:39,150 --> 00:19:39,790 but we. 432 00:19:39,790 --> 00:19:41,150 We need to print there. 433 00:19:41,310 --> 00:19:42,710 And I've been part of. 434 00:19:42,710 --> 00:19:46,150 Are you folks familiar with Bearing Precious Seed, the. 435 00:19:46,150 --> 00:19:49,070 The churches that print Bibles and send them around the world? 436 00:19:49,150 --> 00:19:49,750 Anyway, there. 437 00:19:49,750 --> 00:19:52,750 There's a church in Ohio bearing Precious Seed in Milford, 438 00:19:52,750 --> 00:19:53,310 Ohio. 439 00:19:53,630 --> 00:19:54,270 They have a. 440 00:19:54,270 --> 00:19:57,470 They have a press that's as long as you're building, and it almost 441 00:19:57,470 --> 00:20:00,910 as long as this building, and it takes six big rolls of paper. 442 00:20:01,730 --> 00:20:04,530 I think it can print a whole new Testament in one run. 443 00:20:04,930 --> 00:20:06,370 They've been doing this for years. 444 00:20:07,090 --> 00:20:10,610 And we were part of that ministry before we went to Africa. 445 00:20:11,090 --> 00:20:14,050 And I've always had a desire to print on the field. 446 00:20:14,050 --> 00:20:17,690 So a couple several years ago, we were able to get by a printing 447 00:20:17,690 --> 00:20:18,290 press there. 448 00:20:18,370 --> 00:20:20,450 But the timing has never been right. 449 00:20:20,450 --> 00:20:22,610 We've got the print shop, we've got the printing press, we've 450 00:20:22,610 --> 00:20:24,290 got the cutters, staplers, folders. 451 00:20:24,450 --> 00:20:26,050 Got everything we need to start. 452 00:20:27,020 --> 00:20:30,380 But I can't spend all my time printing if I'm helping a church. 453 00:20:31,020 --> 00:20:32,340 So we've been praying and. 454 00:20:32,340 --> 00:20:36,860 And back in September, I was in my home church in Carthage, Missouri. 455 00:20:36,860 --> 00:20:38,380 Does anybody know where Carthage is? 456 00:20:39,980 --> 00:20:41,500 You know where St. Louis is? 457 00:20:41,740 --> 00:20:43,260 It's nowhere near St. Louis. 458 00:20:44,220 --> 00:20:47,380 It's clear down in the other corner by Oklahoma and Kansas and 459 00:20:47,380 --> 00:20:50,020 Arkansas, down by Joplin, past Springfield. 460 00:20:50,020 --> 00:20:52,520 Anyway, that's my home church, my sending church. 461 00:20:53,150 --> 00:20:56,430 And as I was finishing up giving my presentation that night, 462 00:20:58,270 --> 00:21:00,990 my pastor got up and said, hey, Brother Dave. 463 00:21:00,990 --> 00:21:03,150 Brother Dave was sitting in toward the back. 464 00:21:03,710 --> 00:21:05,230 He said, aren't you a printer? 465 00:21:05,230 --> 00:21:06,430 He said, yes, I am. 466 00:21:06,910 --> 00:21:09,590 He said, if I'd raised the money for you to go help Brother 467 00:21:09,590 --> 00:21:10,390 Jeff, would you go? 468 00:21:10,390 --> 00:21:11,390 He said, I sure would. 469 00:21:11,950 --> 00:21:15,390 Now, Brother Dave and I had talked about this before the last 470 00:21:15,390 --> 00:21:18,790 time I was back, but he's had to have some surgeries and recovery 471 00:21:18,790 --> 00:21:19,870 time and all of that. 472 00:21:20,390 --> 00:21:23,350 Brother Dave used to own his own printing business. 473 00:21:23,910 --> 00:21:27,350 He knows all about the presses and the equipment that we have. 474 00:21:28,550 --> 00:21:31,350 As I was talking to him by my table at the end of the service, 475 00:21:32,150 --> 00:21:33,150 another man came up. 476 00:21:33,150 --> 00:21:34,310 His name was Brother Dance. 477 00:21:35,350 --> 00:21:38,870 Brother Dance, I didn't know too well he's joined since I was 478 00:21:38,870 --> 00:21:41,350 there last, but I'd met him once or twice. 479 00:21:41,670 --> 00:21:47,350 And to find out Brother Dance is a retired printer and he knows 480 00:21:47,350 --> 00:21:48,750 the equipment that I have. 481 00:21:48,750 --> 00:21:49,230 You know what? 482 00:21:49,230 --> 00:21:54,190 I've got two men coming next year to help get these presses and 483 00:21:54,190 --> 00:21:55,830 equipment up and running. 484 00:21:55,910 --> 00:21:59,750 And, Lord willing, start training a man so we can start printing 485 00:21:59,750 --> 00:22:00,830 there in South Africa. 486 00:22:00,830 --> 00:22:02,390 You say, Brother Jeff, what are you going to print? 487 00:22:02,710 --> 00:22:05,430 Well, we have nine different tribal languages. 488 00:22:05,590 --> 00:22:12,680 Zulu, Ndebele, osa, Tsonga, Swana, and several others that they 489 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,000 have nothing or very little of the Word of God in their languages. 490 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,000 And missionaries and national pastors there have been writing or 491 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:23,080 translating tracts, and they've been printing them on their 492 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:26,080 desktop printer or they've been taking them to the. 493 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:29,680 The copy place and making copies, and that gets very expensive. 494 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:31,720 And so these men have done that. 495 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:33,240 And so I'm in contact with them. 496 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,440 And I said, get it ready and get it sent to me so we can start 497 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:40,950 formatting, so we can start printing the Word of God in South 498 00:22:40,950 --> 00:22:45,550 Africa to give to those pastors and national pastors and 499 00:22:45,550 --> 00:22:50,070 missionaries so they can have at least something to hand to their 500 00:22:50,070 --> 00:22:50,350 people. 501 00:22:51,470 --> 00:22:56,150 I tell you that again, and I tell you that you've had a part in 502 00:22:56,150 --> 00:22:56,430 that. 503 00:22:57,230 --> 00:23:01,910 As you pray and you give so we can. 504 00:23:01,910 --> 00:23:02,670 So I can go. 505 00:23:02,670 --> 00:23:04,190 So your missionaries can go. 506 00:23:04,270 --> 00:23:06,510 The gospel gets out around the world. 507 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:08,240 That's fruit that abounds to your account. 508 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:09,920 Here's another thing. 509 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:11,040 We. 510 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:13,920 We have two other ministries we're running out of the church. 511 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:14,680 We have a. 512 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,480 We call it a helps ministry and a friendship ministry. 513 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,160 Our friendship ministry is just basically a feeding program. 514 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:25,040 We have a lot of unemployment, a lot of people living on the streets. 515 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:27,040 And our ladies started this. 516 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:28,160 They wanted to start this. 517 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:28,560 So they. 518 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:32,200 On Friday, they'll come to my house because I've got a big veranda 519 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:36,480 porch, and we Have a big stove outside, and they use these big old 520 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:37,200 pots like. 521 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:38,480 I mean, seriously like this. 522 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:39,600 They start cooking in. 523 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:41,200 And we'll cook anywhere. 524 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:43,520 Enough food for about 200 people. 525 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:48,040 And on Saturday morning, we go out and we take that food that they've 526 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:51,680 cooked and they, of course, they reheat it and it's a hot meal. 527 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:54,360 And we are able to go out on the street, on the. 528 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:54,720 In. 529 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:59,280 In on the beachfront, into shelters and start handing out those 530 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:01,210 scripture had. 531 00:24:02,890 --> 00:24:04,490 I'm allergic to somebody in here. 532 00:24:05,770 --> 00:24:06,890 I think it's you, brother. 533 00:24:09,770 --> 00:24:10,050 And. 534 00:24:10,050 --> 00:24:12,530 But the thing about it is we have opportunity to give them the 535 00:24:12,530 --> 00:24:13,050 gospel. 536 00:24:13,450 --> 00:24:15,290 This last month, just in. 537 00:24:16,010 --> 00:24:19,290 I think it was the end of October, They. 538 00:24:19,290 --> 00:24:21,210 They're continuing on while I'm not there. 539 00:24:22,170 --> 00:24:22,570 They. 540 00:24:22,650 --> 00:24:25,250 They handed out 150 parcels of food. 541 00:24:25,250 --> 00:24:26,570 They were able to go to a shelter. 542 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:30,240 But before they got the food, everybody gathered into the main 543 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:30,760 hall. 544 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:33,840 And one of our men was able to preach to them and give them the 545 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:34,200 gospel. 546 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:35,320 And each one got a. 547 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,840 Either a New Testament or a John and Romans and gospel tract 548 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:39,640 to read. 549 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,280 I don't know if anybody got saved or not, but they heard the 550 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:42,760 gospel. 551 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:44,720 And we go out on the street corner. 552 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:46,080 We can preach with a megaphone. 553 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:46,760 It's no problem. 554 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:49,720 So we have that friendship ministry. 555 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:51,960 Then we have our helps ministry on. 556 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:53,800 On Wednesday night, our Bible study. 557 00:24:54,490 --> 00:24:55,770 They come to the property. 558 00:24:55,770 --> 00:24:58,570 There again, where my friend brother Andy is. 559 00:24:58,890 --> 00:25:00,890 You know, you all have different gifts. 560 00:25:02,010 --> 00:25:02,450 God. 561 00:25:02,450 --> 00:25:06,170 The Bible says God gives us gifts to use for him. 562 00:25:06,490 --> 00:25:07,770 Who sings in here? 563 00:25:08,730 --> 00:25:09,490 Okay, I'm not. 564 00:25:09,490 --> 00:25:11,810 I'm not talking about carrying a tune in a bucket. 565 00:25:11,810 --> 00:25:12,250 Okay? 566 00:25:12,330 --> 00:25:13,130 You can sing. 567 00:25:13,690 --> 00:25:14,570 Who can cook. 568 00:25:15,450 --> 00:25:18,530 I'm sure there's a whole bunch of ladies that can who are handymen. 569 00:25:18,530 --> 00:25:20,570 You can work with wood or electric or metal. 570 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:22,920 You know, God gives us all kinds of. 571 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:23,440 How many are. 572 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:24,440 Sunday school teacher. 573 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:26,200 Amen. 574 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,200 You see, God gives all kinds of gifts. 575 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:34,240 Brother Andy, in our church, besides being very smart, he's one 576 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:34,800 of these guys. 577 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:36,919 I explained my friend brother Andy as. 578 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:41,280 He's one of these guys that if he can't fix it or he can't make 579 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,480 it, you don't need it. 580 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:47,160 I mean, he can fix anything and he can make anything. 581 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:48,440 He has one of these minds. 582 00:25:48,590 --> 00:25:53,070 Yeah, I learned a whole bunch of rules and formulas in school. 583 00:25:54,910 --> 00:25:56,710 You have to ask him something, and you can see his brain. 584 00:25:56,710 --> 00:25:57,670 He just starts clicking off. 585 00:25:57,670 --> 00:25:58,830 It's just clicking off, click. 586 00:25:59,310 --> 00:26:01,390 He loves to cook and he loves to hoe. 587 00:26:02,430 --> 00:26:07,790 On Wednesday night, we fix a meal for about 30 people in our church. 588 00:26:08,270 --> 00:26:09,390 They Come to his house. 589 00:26:09,390 --> 00:26:11,470 He's got a big outside porch there. 590 00:26:12,750 --> 00:26:15,470 And a lot of these folks are struggling. 591 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,400 They're in our church or they're in other churches. 592 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:23,080 Some of them are divorced or going through divorce. 593 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:23,800 They're struggling. 594 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:25,280 They have no support system. 595 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:27,480 They have nobody to talk to. 596 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:29,200 They have nobody to lean upon. 597 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:34,840 And so we have started this helps ministry, helping them to be 598 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:38,240 able to learn how to handle the situation they're going through, 599 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:42,960 teaching them how to give it over to God and to trust God, learn 600 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:44,480 how to pray about it. 601 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:50,680 So we are meeting at this property on Wednesdays and on Friday 602 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:52,960 nights our services are there. 603 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:55,760 And the Lord's blessing that we've had several folks come and 604 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:57,200 join the church because of that. 605 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:00,800 So I told you we had to move the. 606 00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:04,400 The recovery program. 607 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:09,290 So on Sunday, we only meet in this rented building and we only 608 00:27:09,290 --> 00:27:11,130 use it on Sunday mornings for a couple of hours. 609 00:27:11,930 --> 00:27:14,770 So I've been talking to our men and we're trying to figure out 610 00:27:14,770 --> 00:27:18,890 if we can just move the church out to the print shop. 611 00:27:19,850 --> 00:27:24,370 Now we're going to have to have some ladies touch to help us 612 00:27:24,370 --> 00:27:26,570 make it look like a church and not a warehouse. 613 00:27:27,370 --> 00:27:29,290 But we have. 614 00:27:29,290 --> 00:27:29,850 We have. 615 00:27:30,170 --> 00:27:33,830 A piece of land has become available right next to the place 616 00:27:33,980 --> 00:27:34,780 place we meet now. 617 00:27:35,740 --> 00:27:37,900 There's four acres that have become available. 618 00:27:38,700 --> 00:27:41,740 In town, we looked at land for a third of an acre. 619 00:27:41,740 --> 00:27:44,860 It's anywhere from 250 to $350,000. 620 00:27:46,140 --> 00:27:47,900 To me, that's not a good use of money. 621 00:27:48,780 --> 00:27:51,300 And, and right next to where we're at, we're looking at. 622 00:27:51,300 --> 00:27:53,100 And we're praying God and supply to. 623 00:27:53,580 --> 00:27:56,420 To supply $50,000 to buy these four acres. 624 00:27:56,420 --> 00:27:57,500 That'll buy the four acres. 625 00:27:57,500 --> 00:27:58,700 That'll do the paperwork. 626 00:27:59,340 --> 00:27:59,900 That'll. 627 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:01,160 If there are any. 628 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:06,960 Any liens against it or people squatting on it or take claim to 629 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:08,880 it, that will take. 630 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:09,280 Get it. 631 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:12,560 Get them off the property and we can build a proper security fence 632 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:13,160 around it. 633 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:14,080 So we are. 634 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:14,840 Thank you, brother. 635 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:17,000 Where'd you get that water? 636 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:22,280 You know these Mexican pastors, you got to be careful. 637 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:25,000 Yeah. 638 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:25,720 It's coming from Africa. 639 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:26,440 I drink everything. 640 00:28:26,670 --> 00:28:27,070 Anything. 641 00:28:30,030 --> 00:28:31,070 You know, I. I'm. 642 00:28:31,550 --> 00:28:33,390 I'm surprised he didn't bring me Pepsi. 643 00:28:33,390 --> 00:28:34,990 It's on the back of his shirt there. 644 00:28:36,030 --> 00:28:40,670 So we're praying that God would supply the funds to purchase 645 00:28:42,030 --> 00:28:45,230 these four acres and with. 646 00:28:45,230 --> 00:28:46,150 With the church. 647 00:28:46,150 --> 00:28:46,390 If. 648 00:28:46,390 --> 00:28:49,350 And here's my thinking now, if you think I'm thinking wrong, please 649 00:28:49,350 --> 00:28:49,830 let me know. 650 00:28:49,830 --> 00:28:52,550 Because the Bible said in the multitude of counselors, they're 651 00:28:52,550 --> 00:28:56,630 Satan if we can move the church out there and we can. 652 00:28:56,630 --> 00:28:58,270 And the folks come anyway. 653 00:28:58,270 --> 00:28:59,110 And we run a. 654 00:28:59,110 --> 00:29:00,990 We run a taxi or we run a. 655 00:29:00,990 --> 00:29:04,230 We have a bus route, but we use plastic. 656 00:29:04,310 --> 00:29:04,910 Plastic. 657 00:29:04,910 --> 00:29:07,870 We use public transport to get them there. 658 00:29:07,870 --> 00:29:10,710 Now our public transport are 16 passenger vans. 659 00:29:10,710 --> 00:29:11,510 Toyota van. 660 00:29:11,670 --> 00:29:14,910 They run around the city in town and picking up people like ants. 661 00:29:14,910 --> 00:29:16,830 Scurrying everywhere in and out. 662 00:29:16,830 --> 00:29:18,230 They run through the red lights. 663 00:29:18,230 --> 00:29:19,150 We call them robots. 664 00:29:19,150 --> 00:29:21,060 They there, they don't stop. 665 00:29:21,220 --> 00:29:22,540 They're always honking their horn. 666 00:29:22,540 --> 00:29:23,300 They're a menace. 667 00:29:23,620 --> 00:29:24,980 But that's how people get around. 668 00:29:25,780 --> 00:29:29,100 So we have a guy who we've used and every Sunday morning he 669 00:29:29,100 --> 00:29:30,940 goes to a certain area and picks up a. 670 00:29:30,940 --> 00:29:32,900 A taxi load of people for us. 671 00:29:33,060 --> 00:29:36,860 Brings them to church and after church he comes back and picks 672 00:29:36,860 --> 00:29:37,940 them up and takes them home. 673 00:29:37,940 --> 00:29:39,420 I don't have to worry about a vehicle. 674 00:29:39,420 --> 00:29:40,620 I don't have to worry about mechanic. 675 00:29:40,620 --> 00:29:41,820 I don't have to worry about insurance. 676 00:29:41,820 --> 00:29:43,140 I have to worry about liability. 677 00:29:43,220 --> 00:29:46,420 Do I have to worry about being out on the road early before church 678 00:29:46,420 --> 00:29:47,300 and after church? 679 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,520 And he just got to bring them about five miles further than what 680 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:51,240 he normally does. 681 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:55,120 So to me it looks like a good situation for us. 682 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:58,600 So would you pray God give us wisdom about this piece of land. 683 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:02,920 I think we've had about $7500 already promised toward that. 684 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:04,280 Had another 1500. 685 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:06,440 Guy sent me a message today on the way here. 686 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:07,480 Sent me a message. 687 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:09,000 We're going to give something to help toward it. 688 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:10,480 So you know what I'm asking? 689 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:14,780 I'm asking that you would pray that God would provide. 690 00:30:15,900 --> 00:30:19,660 Now, I don't think anybody in here has $50,000 in their wallet 691 00:30:19,660 --> 00:30:20,620 or purse tonight. 692 00:30:21,420 --> 00:30:23,540 If you do, you better call the preacher. 693 00:30:23,540 --> 00:30:24,820 He'll want to talk to you right away. 694 00:30:24,820 --> 00:30:25,420 Amen. 695 00:30:26,140 --> 00:30:29,260 But I have a God who owns the cattle on A Thousand Hill. 696 00:30:30,380 --> 00:30:31,220 He can do it. 697 00:30:31,220 --> 00:30:32,500 I've seen him do great things. 698 00:30:32,500 --> 00:30:36,900 Matter of fact, he said he can do exceeding abundantly above all 699 00:30:36,900 --> 00:30:38,540 that we ask or think. 700 00:30:39,510 --> 00:30:40,430 Now, I tell you what. 701 00:30:40,430 --> 00:30:41,750 I. I see this piece of land. 702 00:30:42,070 --> 00:30:44,350 I see us building a building on it. 703 00:30:44,350 --> 00:30:44,710 If. 704 00:30:44,710 --> 00:30:48,110 If we are able to pay our rent right now, all that money could go 705 00:30:48,110 --> 00:30:48,630 to a building. 706 00:30:49,350 --> 00:30:50,950 If we're meeting in the print shop. 707 00:30:51,990 --> 00:30:55,150 We do not have a good translation of the word of God in 708 00:30:55,150 --> 00:30:55,750 Zulu. 709 00:30:56,310 --> 00:30:57,910 We don't have anything to give our people. 710 00:30:58,630 --> 00:31:01,510 There is a translation out there, but it's not a good one at 711 00:31:01,510 --> 00:31:01,830 all. 712 00:31:03,270 --> 00:31:04,630 I'm praying that God would. 713 00:31:04,890 --> 00:31:08,930 And I'm asking you to pray that God would help that God would 714 00:31:08,930 --> 00:31:12,410 put together a translation team for the Zulu. 715 00:31:12,970 --> 00:31:17,370 I can see a translation station on this property. 716 00:31:17,930 --> 00:31:20,210 I can see a school on this. 717 00:31:20,210 --> 00:31:21,770 I can see, I can think some great things. 718 00:31:21,770 --> 00:31:23,770 God said he's able to do even more. 719 00:31:24,170 --> 00:31:25,450 We have people in that area. 720 00:31:25,450 --> 00:31:29,290 There's no church around there for them to go to of any kind. 721 00:31:30,090 --> 00:31:33,840 And one of our men have been up reaching and, and the, the young 722 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:37,680 people and the kids and teaching them off and on up in that 723 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:38,000 area. 724 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:40,400 It's called Gologoshlo. 725 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:42,760 They need the gospel. 726 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:43,840 They need a church too. 727 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:46,080 So our people are already coming out their way. 728 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:47,840 So that's just some things that's happening. 729 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:52,840 And it's happening because Middletown Baptist Church prays for 730 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:58,010 their missionary and you give to mission and when you do that, 731 00:31:58,010 --> 00:32:02,050 you're obeying God's command and taking the gospel around the 732 00:32:02,050 --> 00:32:02,330 world. 733 00:32:02,650 --> 00:32:04,970 And I just want to say thank you for that. 734 00:32:05,530 --> 00:32:08,250 Thank you for your faithfulness in prayers and giving. 735 00:32:08,570 --> 00:32:10,010 And I want to invite you to come. 736 00:32:10,010 --> 00:32:14,330 I built this house on this property and I've got an extra bedroom. 737 00:32:14,330 --> 00:32:16,530 You can come and spend a couple of weeks or three. 738 00:32:16,530 --> 00:32:21,810 And I, I'd take you so many places and I, I'd treat you so many 739 00:32:21,810 --> 00:32:24,050 different ways and I'd feed you so many different things. 740 00:32:24,050 --> 00:32:25,330 You'd have to like one of them. 741 00:32:25,330 --> 00:32:25,770 Amen. 742 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:27,280 Amen. 743 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:37,240 So that's what's happening in Africa in, in 2021, the Lord called 744 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:38,480 my wife home from Africa. 745 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:46,240 We were, we were there and we were still in COVID protocol. 746 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:51,520 There was a lot of things happening and her ankles were swelling 747 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:52,480 and would not go down. 748 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:55,310 So, you know, the first thing you think of is either heart or kidneys. 749 00:32:56,340 --> 00:33:01,100 So my good doctor friend said, let's put her in the hospital and 750 00:33:01,100 --> 00:33:02,100 get some testing done. 751 00:33:02,260 --> 00:33:03,540 Let me tell you about this doctor. 752 00:33:03,540 --> 00:33:04,420 He's a Christian. 753 00:33:05,380 --> 00:33:07,940 He's been our doctor for many years. 754 00:33:10,100 --> 00:33:15,340 Almost every Friday or Saturday morning at 7 o', clock, 755 00:33:15,340 --> 00:33:21,100 I'm in his office and we have a Bible study and prayer and he kind 756 00:33:21,100 --> 00:33:25,560 of unloads on me some things that are happening and going on. 757 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:29,760 And we just have a good time over coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts. 758 00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:30,200 Amen. 759 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:35,400 But it's amazing that this doctor he wants to get to, matter 760 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:36,840 of fact, he asked me to come. 761 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:41,840 And so it's a real blessing to have that type of doctor. 762 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:44,400 Matter of fact, just about three weeks before I came back, I 763 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:47,560 was in the hospital with influenza and they had to put me 764 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:48,280 in isolation. 765 00:33:50,170 --> 00:33:54,690 On that Friday morning, my doctor went down to the where we 766 00:33:54,690 --> 00:33:56,970 get coffee and donuts. 767 00:33:56,970 --> 00:33:59,690 And he brought them to me in the hospital in my room. 768 00:33:59,690 --> 00:34:01,050 Now, what kind of doctor does that? 769 00:34:01,690 --> 00:34:02,410 They don't. 770 00:34:02,810 --> 00:34:04,410 You see, he has the love of God. 771 00:34:04,970 --> 00:34:05,370 He. 772 00:34:05,850 --> 00:34:06,930 He's a great man. 773 00:34:06,930 --> 00:34:11,170 Anyway, I meet with him every week, and I praise the Lord for that 774 00:34:11,170 --> 00:34:11,530 guy. 775 00:34:11,770 --> 00:34:14,570 He went through all of this with me, with my wife. 776 00:34:15,290 --> 00:34:16,650 They couldn't find anything wrong. 777 00:34:16,650 --> 00:34:20,770 They couldn't find anything wrong with the swelling. 778 00:34:20,770 --> 00:34:22,570 There's no infections, nothing. 779 00:34:23,130 --> 00:34:24,170 She was in there a week. 780 00:34:24,170 --> 00:34:28,410 The beginning of that second week, she started to become a little 781 00:34:29,450 --> 00:34:30,090 distant. 782 00:34:31,370 --> 00:34:33,570 It was hard to talk to her, to keep her attention. 783 00:34:33,570 --> 00:34:33,930 And. 784 00:34:33,930 --> 00:34:34,810 And it was co. 785 00:34:34,810 --> 00:34:35,210 It was. 786 00:34:35,210 --> 00:34:37,330 We still had high COVID protocol. 787 00:34:37,330 --> 00:34:38,330 I couldn't even go to the hospital. 788 00:34:38,970 --> 00:34:41,490 So I would talk to her on the phone, and I couldn't get a hold 789 00:34:41,490 --> 00:34:42,330 of her on the phone. 790 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:43,960 She let the phone die. 791 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:45,320 I couldn't keep her attention. 792 00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:46,280 And. 793 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:48,560 She. 794 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:49,640 She didn't want to eat. 795 00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:52,680 And then the next thing they told me that was she had pneumonia. 796 00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:56,040 And shortly after that, they put her into icu. 797 00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:59,480 And they called me that Tuesday morning, said, you better 798 00:34:59,480 --> 00:34:59,960 come in. 799 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,200 She's failing. 800 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:11,450 And so I went in that morning and spent some time with her, spent 801 00:35:11,450 --> 00:35:12,290 the whole day with her. 802 00:35:13,650 --> 00:35:14,810 Some of you've been through this. 803 00:35:14,810 --> 00:35:15,410 You wonder. 804 00:35:17,090 --> 00:35:20,610 And, you know, at that time, I didn't question God. 805 00:35:23,730 --> 00:35:27,690 I pretty much accepted the fact what was happening, but I didn't 806 00:35:27,690 --> 00:35:29,330 know why or the reason. 807 00:35:31,330 --> 00:35:37,740 And I called my kids and they all got to say their goodbyes and 808 00:35:38,940 --> 00:35:41,780 told her I got up in her face and I was moving her hair and told 809 00:35:41,780 --> 00:35:42,180 her I love her. 810 00:35:42,180 --> 00:35:45,020 She opened her eyes and looked at me for about three seconds. 811 00:35:46,060 --> 00:35:48,220 The only time she was conscious when I was there. 812 00:35:49,499 --> 00:35:53,020 Spent a couple of more hours with her, and then she walked into 813 00:35:53,020 --> 00:35:54,140 the presence of the Lord. 814 00:35:55,180 --> 00:35:57,180 Can you imagine what that's going to be like? 815 00:35:58,220 --> 00:36:02,000 Absent from the body, present with the Lord, just like that. 816 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:06,640 And the doctors, they could not. 817 00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:10,800 They have no idea what took her life. 818 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:12,480 It wasn't covet. 819 00:36:14,720 --> 00:36:16,320 One doctor said this to me. 820 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:22,160 She said, we just think that probably her body was tired and wore 821 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:26,720 out, and life on the mission field with health conditions is not. 822 00:36:28,940 --> 00:36:31,460 But I'm thankful today that I have a risen savior. 823 00:36:31,460 --> 00:36:33,940 And one day she's going to rise from that grave, and one day 824 00:36:33,940 --> 00:36:35,340 I'm going to see her in heaven. 825 00:36:35,740 --> 00:36:36,620 And you know what? 826 00:36:36,780 --> 00:36:38,460 God's giving me the grace to go on. 827 00:36:41,420 --> 00:36:42,300 Has it been easy? 828 00:36:42,300 --> 00:36:42,620 No. 829 00:36:43,980 --> 00:36:46,540 It's kind of like somebody's cut my left arm off. 830 00:36:47,500 --> 00:36:52,180 I've had one Thing I can't do in church, I can't deal with the 831 00:36:52,180 --> 00:36:52,460 women. 832 00:36:54,170 --> 00:36:55,050 Can't handle them. 833 00:36:55,130 --> 00:36:56,410 No, I don't mean it that way. 834 00:36:57,610 --> 00:37:02,890 I can't minister to them very well without a wife and the children. 835 00:37:03,370 --> 00:37:05,690 That's been difficult for Sunday school. 836 00:37:06,810 --> 00:37:11,530 But God has given two ladies in our church now who are helping 837 00:37:11,530 --> 00:37:15,690 with the Sunday school, helping planning things for the ladies. 838 00:37:16,570 --> 00:37:18,650 We have some missionary ladies who help. 839 00:37:18,730 --> 00:37:22,220 Sometimes my daughter comes and visits or my daughter in law 840 00:37:23,020 --> 00:37:26,060 from Uganda comes down to visit and they will have a ladies 841 00:37:26,060 --> 00:37:26,380 meeting. 842 00:37:26,380 --> 00:37:30,860 And these ladies, for example, we have a couple there, an evangelist 843 00:37:30,860 --> 00:37:31,140 couple. 844 00:37:31,140 --> 00:37:34,660 They've been taking over the services for me while I've been gone 845 00:37:34,660 --> 00:37:36,620 overseeing the church and doing the ministries. 846 00:37:36,780 --> 00:37:39,020 And they're expecting their first baby. 847 00:37:39,740 --> 00:37:42,180 And one of the ladies said, pastor Jeff, would it be all right 848 00:37:42,180 --> 00:37:43,980 if we have a baby shower for her? 849 00:37:45,340 --> 00:37:46,820 Man, that's the fantastic. 850 00:37:46,820 --> 00:37:47,980 That wasn't my idea. 851 00:37:47,980 --> 00:37:49,420 That was their idea. 852 00:37:49,820 --> 00:37:53,140 And folks, that's the kind of people we need in church ready to 853 00:37:53,140 --> 00:37:58,700 jump in and help and carry the load so we can get the gospel. 854 00:37:59,740 --> 00:38:01,580 So God has answered a lot of prayers. 855 00:38:01,580 --> 00:38:03,180 I'm anxious to get back. 856 00:38:03,340 --> 00:38:08,020 I go back December 28th and I'm staying till after Christmas. 857 00:38:08,020 --> 00:38:11,140 I'm giving my kids one more chance to get me a nice Christmas 858 00:38:11,140 --> 00:38:11,340 present. 859 00:38:11,340 --> 00:38:11,820 Amen. 860 00:38:13,250 --> 00:38:15,010 But we're all going to be together at Thanksgiving. 861 00:38:15,010 --> 00:38:15,890 I'm thankful for that. 862 00:38:15,890 --> 00:38:19,650 But I'm ready to get back going, get the printing ministry 863 00:38:19,650 --> 00:38:20,050 started. 864 00:38:20,370 --> 00:38:21,810 We're pursuing this land. 865 00:38:21,970 --> 00:38:23,650 That's some things you can think about. 866 00:38:24,850 --> 00:38:27,970 Let me leave you a verse tonight. 867 00:38:29,010 --> 00:38:35,170 The Bible says, but my God shall supply all your what need. 868 00:38:36,850 --> 00:38:38,690 He didn't say he'd supply all of our want. 869 00:38:41,810 --> 00:38:45,250 But he also said, now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly 870 00:38:45,250 --> 00:38:51,130 above all that we ask or think, he said, my thoughts are higher 871 00:38:51,130 --> 00:38:54,729 than your thoughts and my ways are higher than your ways. 872 00:38:54,729 --> 00:38:56,450 Man, I got some big ideas for Africa. 873 00:38:57,010 --> 00:38:59,010 I got some big ideas for our church. 874 00:38:59,010 --> 00:39:03,250 I got some big ideas for the printing and they're big. 875 00:39:03,810 --> 00:39:04,290 That's. 876 00:39:04,290 --> 00:39:04,570 It's. 877 00:39:04,570 --> 00:39:05,490 I can't do it. 878 00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:07,080 Only God can. 879 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:15,440 But God can do more in your life and in my life as we yield ourselves 880 00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:15,960 to him. 881 00:39:17,240 --> 00:39:18,440 And that's all I want to be. 882 00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:21,959 I want to be a yielded servant of Jesus Christ. 883 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:27,720 And if we'll do that, we'll see the blessings of God blow and 884 00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:29,560 it happens again. 885 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:36,890 Because of churches like Pray and Give, I get, I get several times 886 00:39:36,890 --> 00:39:39,170 a year I get notes and letters from this church. 887 00:39:39,810 --> 00:39:41,970 You all correspond with your Missionaries there. 888 00:39:41,970 --> 00:39:44,210 You, I, I know several on the wall back here. 889 00:39:44,290 --> 00:39:47,490 There's nothing like getting a little email or an, or a card in 890 00:39:47,490 --> 00:39:51,010 the mail from the usa some church that we're praying for you. 891 00:39:51,490 --> 00:39:52,850 That's a blessing to us. 892 00:39:53,650 --> 00:39:57,020 Some of the sometimes when missionaries go through trials, we've 893 00:39:57,020 --> 00:39:59,260 had, we've had several things happen on the field. 894 00:39:59,260 --> 00:40:01,660 We've been robbed at gunpoint for two and a half hours. 895 00:40:01,900 --> 00:40:03,500 Our kids have had malaria. 896 00:40:03,820 --> 00:40:07,100 Several things have happened and come back to the States and somebody 897 00:40:07,100 --> 00:40:10,220 recounts that story and they said, you know what? 898 00:40:10,780 --> 00:40:13,340 God woke me up in the middle of night to pray for you. 899 00:40:14,940 --> 00:40:16,460 God wakes you up in the middle of the night. 900 00:40:17,660 --> 00:40:19,500 You say, God, who am I supposed to be praying for? 901 00:40:20,620 --> 00:40:22,420 It might be one of your missionaries who are going through 902 00:40:22,420 --> 00:40:22,940 a trial. 903 00:40:23,630 --> 00:40:24,670 So I want to thank you. 904 00:40:24,830 --> 00:40:27,070 You're going to get out early tonight, is that okay? 905 00:40:27,310 --> 00:40:28,030 Five minutes. 906 00:40:28,030 --> 00:40:28,910 Whole five minutes. 907 00:40:29,390 --> 00:40:33,390 But I want to thank you for allowing me to be your missionary. 908 00:40:33,470 --> 00:40:35,390 30, at least 35 years. 909 00:40:35,550 --> 00:40:41,870 We started deputation in, in 87, so I think 88 or 89 we were here 910 00:40:42,110 --> 00:40:45,950 and you all took us on and, and I see what God's done here and 911 00:40:45,950 --> 00:40:47,150 I'm excited for you. 912 00:40:47,790 --> 00:40:51,090 I've just thanked past for you tonight. 913 00:40:51,330 --> 00:40:53,570 Being faithful to the Lord in this place. 914 00:40:53,570 --> 00:40:54,210 Let's pray. 915 00:40:54,850 --> 00:40:58,290 Lord, I want to thank you again, Lord, for your love to us 916 00:40:58,290 --> 00:41:01,930 and for what you're doing through Middletown Baptist Church 917 00:41:01,930 --> 00:41:06,810 and Lord, in this community and around the world, Lord, you told 918 00:41:06,810 --> 00:41:09,210 us to go to all the world, but you told us how to do it. 919 00:41:09,210 --> 00:41:13,330 If we, if you didn't call us or send us personally, we can give 920 00:41:13,330 --> 00:41:14,290 and we can pray. 921 00:41:15,180 --> 00:41:16,620 So Lord, I thank you for this church. 922 00:41:16,620 --> 00:41:20,340 I pray you bless, Lord, a lot of events happening between now and 923 00:41:20,340 --> 00:41:21,140 the end of the year. 924 00:41:21,140 --> 00:41:22,380 I pray you bless those. 925 00:41:22,380 --> 00:41:25,020 I pray people would come to the Lord Jesus Christ. 926 00:41:25,740 --> 00:41:27,020 In your name we pray. 927 00:41:27,260 --> 00:41:27,900 Amen. 928 00:41:36,860 --> 00:41:39,420 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 929 00:41:39,420 --> 00:41:40,060 podcast. 930 00:41:40,300 --> 00:41:42,260 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 931 00:41:42,490 --> 00:41:45,570 You, you would like to find out more information about our church 932 00:41:45,570 --> 00:41:49,050 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 933 00:41:49,370 --> 00:41:51,930 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 934 00:41:52,650 --> 00:41:54,730 You can also email me directly at. 935 00:41:54,730 --> 00:41:58,570 Josh Massaro, middletownbaptistChurch.com if you've 936 00:41:58,570 --> 00:42:02,570 enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow along for future 937 00:42:02,650 --> 00:42:04,410 podcast and updates. 938 00:42:05,050 --> 00:42:06,010 Thank you so much. 939 00:42:06,250 --> 00:42:06,970 God bless. 940 00:42:07,210 --> 00:42:08,490 Have a wonderful day.