Last Updated on 14.12.11 Written by Wayne Dale
Dale’s December Prayerletter
Dear Family and Friends
Phil 1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you . . ." We have so many reasons to give God thanks. We thank God for each of you and your involvement in the ministry here.
Ministry
The Arizona churches had their state fellowship meetings and we heard Lloyd Larkin speak about ministry in difficult places. He is a missionary in Salt Lake City and shared some of the principles to remember when ministry is difficult. God is the one that brings progress to ministry. This was encouraging as Hispanic and bilingual ministry can be very challenging. We are thankful that God is the one who gives the increase.
We are in the busy process of planning for the many Christmas activities and for the New Year. This year we will have a Children’s Christmas program, caroling, family Christmas activity and a Christmas Day service. We will also be collecting items to be donated to church outreach in Mexico at the end of January. Because of the violence that is occurring there, we will be delivering the items to the border. We are organizing ministry teams and hoping to spend 2012 teaching people to be involved in ministry. Hispanics do not have a natural concept of "teamwork." There are many insecurities and lack of trust toward others. To overcome these sentiments we will be emphasizing humility in service toward others and that our service to God makes an impact no matter how big or how small if we do it for the correct motivation. Our love for Jesus needs to be our source of motivation and not the appearance before others. Please pray that people will serve with a heart that honors our Savior.
-Community Contacts
-Wisdom
-Discipleship of families
-Training of Men
-Spiritual growth of teens
-Health of older church members
- financial resources
-Outreach program
-Future plans
Praises
-Salvation of Claire
-financial supporters
-God's provision
-Blessing of ministry
-Good contact with neighbors
-Family health
-Safety in Clean up of property
Family
This Thanksgiving we celebrated the dinner with a culturally diverse group. We had neighbors from Vietnam, friends from the Philippines, and Mexico. We enjoy sharing customs from the United States and our family, with others from various backgrounds. We desire to praise God for His goodness in our lives and share that experience with those around us. God has continued to open doors with our neighbors!
We also recently celebrated Shanna's mom's 70th birthday. We even saw snow on the ground here in Phoenix. There was a storm on the North side of Phoenix with lightning that brought a snowy ice mix that provided enough snow to make a few snowballs and mini-snowmen. With the cooler temps it has felt like December here in Phoenix.
The kids continue to be a blessing and a source of encouragement. Rylee is continuing to make friends and reach out to them. He has completed his American History curriculum for this year and really enjoyed learning more about our Presidents and inventors, especially from a Christian perspective. He is excited about being a "wise man" in the children's Christmas program, and is preparing to play a piano offertory of "We Three Kings" on Sunday night.
Gloria has learned to ride a two-wheeler and will turn 6 this month. She may be small in stature but that has not limited her activity. Gloria is also preparing a piano offertory, "Silent Night". We are thankful that their Grandma has motivated them to be diligent in practicing and learning about music. She has really been enjoying her t-ball league and it has been fun to watch her blossom in her own activity and to see how she interacts with other children on the team. Shanna has been able to get to know several of the moms through conversations at practices and games. We were invited to a birthday party of a teammate last weekend. We are thankful for opportunities to share the difference Christ can make in our lives.
This month we had the opportunity to sit down and discuss salvation with Claire. Wayne tries to be careful that children clearly understand, yet believe by faith. After speaking with her she has clarified that she received Jesus as Savior with the help of her sister. She has had a noticeable change in her behavior, and willingness to obey. We praise the Lord for His mercy to her and that she understands salvation. It is such a joy and blessing to see our children growing in their faith.
We pray that you all have a blessed Christmas as we remember how far and how low Jesus came to offer us eternal life! Merry Christmas!
serving with
Baptist Church Planters
36830 Royalton Rd,
Grafton, OH 44044
Sent by
First Baptist Church
Elyria, OH 44035
www.firstbaptistelyria.org
