We have been blessed to be connected to so
many local churches over the past, nearly,
three years. For those volunteers who come
to Pathfinder one thing I have
stressed since the beginning is that through
Katrina, God has awakened the local church
... that would be you .... to a bigger
vision and has prompted many to respond to
His call beyond serving on the Gulf
Coast. The other is that Martie and I
enable the ministry of your churches on the
Gulf Coast. We support the local church ..
not the other way around. As a 501c3
para-church ministry, our mission is to come
along side the local church (thus the term
para) and help her fulfill the mission that
the Lord has called her to. All of the
achievements that I report in these updates
are a product of someone like you saying yes
to the Lord and a local church having a
vision and willingness to send you.
Martie and I were talking to a friend,
Michelle, at High Desert in Victorville.
She told us that her first mission trip was
to Waveland and her life was dramatically
changed. Michelle is a 4th grade teacher.
She is taking a sabbatical for a year and is
going to Malawi in Southeastern Africa. She
will be teaching preschoolers at a Christian
school. Wow!!! I asked her if she realized
that the Lord had called her to do what most
Christians feared ... that if they
surrendered to God, He would send them to
Africa ..... She couldn't be more excited
... why? because the Lord has given her a
new passion. What about you? It may not be
Africa ... but what is the passion that the
Lord has placed in your heart? I know that
many of you have completed the 40 Days of
Purpose and are familiar with the acrostic
SHAPE (Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities,
Personality, and Experience) How has the
Lord "shaped" you for ministry? But you
know it's not enough to be SHAPED for a
mission ... we have to be willing to apply
that shaping by stepping out in and by faith
to fulfill the mission God has planned for
each of us.
BTW,
I would love to share what the Lord has done
in your life with respect to walking by
faith in ministry as a result of your
service on the Gulf Coast so please send an
e-mail so I can share it in a future
update. The bottom line is that I want
folks to know how God is using normal people
like you and your church for His glory.
Ministry
Progress
The work on
homes is continuing, not as quickly as I
would like but we are making progress.
Check out the web page http://pathfindermission.org/Rebuild.html.
It seems every week we have someone new
coming to us, asking for assistance in the
rebuilding of their homes. I have received
2 requests by phone this week while we were
in California. Lighthouse Church is
currently at the camp for 5 days to work on
the Phillips home. The week before we left,
the Amish helped us by roofing the
Lafontaine home. Jehovah Jireh!
One of the
down sides is that when we are gone we must
discontinue the bible studies so we are
anxious to get back to Waveland so we can
crank them back up.
Prayer
Requests
Angel - My
niece who has cancer of the bladder
Chuck - My
uncle who has been placed in a nursing home
and is dealing with a number of physical
ailments
Vicki -
Martie's sister who had the same surgery,
but more extensive than Martie's. She is
struggling with the recover process.
Sam and
Marie - health and financial stability
Tim and
Alma - physical problems for both
Charley and
Martie - that the Lord will gives a clear
vision - will strengthen our faith - and
will continue to provide the resources we
need for this ministry both financial and
volunteers.
Bonnie -
Depression
Linda -
Depression
Ben - He is
nearly blind from diabetes and has problems
with his remaining foot.
George -
Depression
Billie - Bo
Bohanan's sister has significant physical
maladies
Dave and
Patricia - health and financial stability
Craig -
continued suggest in his struggle as he
recovers from drug and alcohol addictions -
Craig accepted Christ at a church in
Picayune .. thanks for your prayers.
Blessings
