It has been too long since my last update. We have made allot of changes and experienced allot of growth. Since April we have had folk who have been associated with the congregation come back in repentance, a family moving to the area visited and will be placing membership when they get here permanently, and one man who moved to the area placed membership with the congregation already.
The mood and moral of the congregation as a whole is amazing. This group here is fully onboard with the mission and are really getting out of their comfort zone doing the work. I am still working with a man who has expressed a desire to be baptized. He wants to be a part of the congregation and is learning what that means. I pray he will be ready to obey from the heart that form of doctrine soon. Interestingly enough, if we were in competition, he would have the highest score when it comes to bringing visitors and telling the community about our little group in Riverview.
As for the Brewers, immigration is going well. We are hoping that the invitation for Permanent Residence will be extended to us during the month of July. We are still not up to budget on our support but it seems the Lord always supplies. I can not express how this has bolstered our faith in God.
We have long term plan for raising support for the congregation in regards to our need for a building. With the growth we have experienced lately and what is sure to come in the future, we will need that bigger building sooner than we expected.
There was and still is very much work to be done internally with the congregation. These people have dealt with some longterm issues that have now been resolved. It seems that getting these resolved removed the cap and now there is an explosion of hope and newfound excitement in the congregation. I can not imagine an environment more conducive to growth, both numerical and spiritually.
We have two of our families expecting babies. One family has a baby due any day now. The other family has a baby due in August. Keep these in your prayers. Some of the women in the congregation might be more excited than the expectant mothers. There are allot of “adopted grandma” vibes around here. The two families are appreciative as in their culture they rely heavily on the older women in their respective families to help the new mothers with the newborns. Both of these families are from Nigeria and do not have their extended family with them. This has proven to be a wonderful opportunity for the older women in the congregation to step up and fill that void. I cannot say enough good about this situation.
I suppose I should close this blog out. I will try my best not to go so long between updates. I apologize for that. I am beyond thankful for your support. Without you there is so much good that is being and has been done that would not have been. Please, remember us in your public prayers. Also, feel free to message me or call me if you have my number. Incidentally, if you do not have my number then reach out to me on Facebook or through here and I will make sure you get it. Again, thanks so much.
God bless,
Tony
P.S. the pic for this blog is of the Chocolate River, one of the reasons this area is famous