Outdoorsman Church, Frenchtown, MT Outdoorsman is heated by wood heat and needed to replace the Quonset hut that holds the wood. Nathan and a team from Tennessee spent a week pouring the footings for the hut. Clark Fork Fellowship, Superior, MT Clark Fork had numerous people waiting to be baptized but needed to get the plumbing on the baptistry repaired before they could use it. Nathan repaired the baptistry and on June 25, six people were baptized. Mountain View Baptist Church, Blackfoot, ID A severe windstorm took sections of the steel roof off of the church. We spent several hours replacing those sections and securing down the older section to withstand the strong winds common to that area. Valley Christian Fellowship, Panguitch, UT Valley Christian has been without a pastor for the three years. One of the hardest things about calling a pastor to the church in remote Utah has been lack of available housing. The church stepped out in faith and raised the funds to build a parsonage. Texas Baptist Men took the lead on the project and have been on site since April. We worked alongside a mission team from Beech Haven Baptist Church to paint, connect water and sewer lines, and put in window egresses. Amber and Faith assisted with a Sports Camp that the mission team also hosted. The deadline for completion of the duplex is July 27. While there, we visited Cedar Breaks National Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park, and enjoyed the Panguitch Valley Balloon Rally. One Hope Church, Greeley, CO One Hope is a church replant in the lower income area of Greeley. They inherited a large facility that needed lots of restoration. We worked with a team from Red Bank Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN to replace the sanctuary flooring, paint the sanctuary, replace much of the lighting, and to change flooring in the church planter's house. We explored Rocky Mountain National Park Sunday afternoon. Mountain View Bible Church, Colorado Springs, CO
Mountain View is a church plant that was meeting in schools and even in driveways before they merged with a dying church and inherited a large facility that required much renovation and restoration. Alongside the team from Red Bank Baptist, we worked on converting an old barracks into a youth center that will serve the students of the high school across the street. We repaired floors, reworked some electrical wires, installed ceiling lights, took out walls and put up others. This puts them way ahead of schedule on getting the youth center up and running. We spent Sunday afternoon at the Mollie Kathleen Mine where you descend 1000' below the earth's surface to tour the gold mine.
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We were privileged to be a part of a missions conference in Crossville, TN on April 30. It was an amazing experience meeting with other missionaries and hearing about the Lord's work all over the world. We were grateful to connect with people we have served with on mission trips in the past. We enjoyed staying with a couple who spent a couple of years serving as international missionaries. We loved their stories about their mission work. We then headed to the Smoky Mountains where we met with Nathan's sister, Crystal. We stayed in a cute cabin outside Pigeon Forge. This was Amber and Faith's first time at the park. The first day we went to Cade's Cove where we seen 13 bears. The next day we went to the top of Clingman's dome, the highest point in Tennessee. It sounds impressive but it was only a half mile hike up a paved trail to the top. But it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the views. We also visited Mingo Falls, Cherokee, NC, and Smokemount. While the area was gorgeous, the highlight of that part of the trip was time with Crystal whom we haven't seen in two years. Our next stop was Washington D.C., where we met up with Kelly. We went to McLean Bible Church in Arlington, VA. We seen both the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery from the road on the way. The next day we visited the Air and Space Smithsonian museum, the National Archives (home of the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights), and the Smithsonian American History museum. The next day we had a Capitol tour, spent more time in the American history museum, seen the White House from a distance, and toured the major monuments (Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson). We knew we could only do so much in just a couple days but we were grateful to have the opportunity. One couple blessed us with a vacation resort in Maryland for our time in D.C.. Our final part of the trip was to Lynchburg, VA where we attended Kelly's degree presentation and commencement ceremony. She graduated with honors receiving her degree in strategic communications from Liberty University. We enjoyed staying with a sweet couple who graciously opened up their home to us. We have never had a vacation like this and we are so grateful that the Lord provided so abundantly for us. We were blessed with airline tickets to Nashville, a two week car rental, a cabin in Pigeon Forge, and the vacation resort in Maryland. This was in addition to the incredible people who we were able to stay with. We got to experience another beautiful part of the country and see God's hand in it all. SMOKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK WASHINGTON D.C. GRADUATION
The duplex at Salmon Valley Baptist is nearing completion. The electrical work is completed, walls are finished, flooring is done, and baseboard is up. Cabinets are installed and appliances are in. The plumbers are currently completing their work.
We still need to put shelves in the pantry and the closet. We have to put some insulation in the crawl space. There is also some work needed on the exterior before we can call for inspection. We are hoping that the final inspections will be completed in May so that the building can be occupied. Beginning April 2, our team hosted an 11-day Life Action Summit. If you are unfamiliar with the ministry of Life Action, this description is taken directly from their website:
Inspiring a Generation to Say YES to God We aim to invite multitudes of people to say YES to God, jump-starting a fresh movement among believers toward mission, justice, and revival, while inviting many others to authentically engage with Jesus for the first time. This surrendered and enthusiastic YES changes everything about a person’s soul, family, work, dreams, and community. It begins with a small step of humility, listening and learning from Jesus, repenting and renewing (or beginning) a walk with God. It’s a simple awakening to what really matters, leading to revived life. At Life Action, we’re praying fervently toward the day when this “yes” attitude is the rule rather than the exception; when millions of people, astonished and excited by the work of God in their lives, are living on bold mission for Christ. Only then will we see the shattering of divisions, injustice, and lostness around us, and only then can we forge into a new future for the church defined by the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. It can begin in the smallest places—in honest, intimate moments with Jesus; in surrendered wills and in daily decisions. It can begin with your next yes to God. We dream of millions of God-astonished lives, in action with Him, shattering divisions, injustice, and lostness. This is Amber's testimony from the Life Action Summit: For months, I have been convicted about my lukewarm walk with the Lord. When I read Mark 12:30 that says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, I knew that I truly did not love Him that much. The Lord began working on my heart even before the summit began in the area of where my mind dwelt. During the summit, the Lord revealed areas of pride in my life that were factors in why my mind was not honoring the Lord. The Lord also revealed my need to live in total dependency on Him. The Lord rekindled the fire in me for Him. My time in the word is refreshed. My dependence upon Him is deepened. My awareness of Him throughout the day has increased. My worship of Him on fire. Twenty four years ago, the Lord took me from death to life in Him. Last week He took me from ashes to revived. Praise Him! Amber's testimony is just one of many testimonies of the Lord's working in the people of Salmon Valley Baptist Church last week. There were testimonies of other lives revived. People came publicly confessing sins. People joined together to pray. People were baptized. Forgiveness was sought and forgiveness was extended. People were called to serve the Lord in many capacities. People were saved. People obeyed what the Lord told them to do and have laid their 'yes' on the table to do whatever God says. Salmon Valley Baptist is no longer the same church. If you would think a Life Action Summit would benefit your church, please visit the Life Action Ministries website at https://lifeaction.org/life-action-church-events/ This month we have focused on drywall. On the 2nd, we had a number of men helping due to the holiday. This made the work go so much quicker. We have continued to work on the drywall. Currently one side of the duplex is finished with taping and mudding. We should be texturing by the end of the week and will focus on the other side as well.
After a month of waiting for the contractors to complete their work, they got all of the work accomplished and the inspection passed on the 14th. This was just in time for an amazing team from Florida to work on the duplex. They were able to get about 3/4 of the siding on the outside of the building and all of the exterior walls and a third of the ceiling insulated. We are so excited to be able to press forward with the work. We give glory to Him for this blessing.
We said goodbye to our last mission team of the season this morning. It has been a amazing year serving with so many wonderful teams. We are grateful for all of the people we have got to reconnect with or meet this year. We made great progress on two different projects this month. Let's start in Superior, MT. We went back to Superior on the 12th to put the metal roof on the portico. A church planter catalyst and his wife joined us. We were able to get the roof on and return home of the 14th. The portico is now ready for winter weather. It still needs to be painted and stained but that project can wait until next year. Work continued on the duplex in Salmon. A mission team from Eastside Baptist Church in Marietta, GA and a team from Suwanee Baptist Association in Live Oak, FL came to help. We are praising the Lord that the church in the the 'dry'. The roof and the metal are on. All of the framing complete. Windows and doors are in. Plumbers are currently working and the electricians are scheduled to come in next week. After that we will call for inspections before work will progress with siding and insulation.
Some of the mission team members who did not help on the duplex stained a deck for a widow, washed windows in the church, stained the new window frames in the sanctuary, cleaned carpets, and painted the foyer. Three of these women were in their 80s! Both of these teams were an incredible blessing to Salmon Valley Baptist. Last week a team from First Baptist Atlanta came to put a portico on Clark Fork Fellowship. They were joined by Kirk Casey from the Cumberland Plateau Association and Michael and Nancy Liner. In addition to the portico, baseboard was installed in the basement, vinyl flooring was put in the entrance hall, boards were stained, and rooms were cleaned and organized. The remaining old carpet in the basement was torn out and the old wallpaper border was removed. The only disappointment was the portico was not finished due to metal not arriving. The portico was covered with a tarp and we will return to finish the portico when it arrives. The portico is a much needed addition to the church and the remaining projects make the church more efficient. It was a great mission group and the week was amazing.
The Jerome Rodeo Bible Camp began last Thursday evening and went through Sunday. There were 26 kids and some amazing instructors and counselors. We are praising the Lord that six young girls were born again during Friday night's chapel service. Seeds were planted among others as the gospel was shared each day. The weather was incredibly hot but many kids and instructors braved the heat and continued to improve their rodeo skills. It was truly a great week at camp.
Last week a team from the Cumberland Plateau Baptist Association worked at Salmon Valley Baptist Church. Initially the team was going to replace 32 windows in the newer section of the church and work on the logs on the older section of the building. However when the Moose Creek fire began and the church was housing sleeping firefighters during the day, the focus changed to the duplex. Yet the Lord opened the door for the team to work on the windows as well. A portion of the team focused on the windows while the rest worked on the duplex. The duplex team was able to get all the walls ups while the window team replaced every window and framed them. We are so grateful for all this team did the support us and for their servant's hearts. We were blessed by them .
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December 2023
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