Serving with Four Princesses in the Caribbean

So what do you get when you take an All-American girl from the Heartland, blend with a Louisiana boy, toss in a small gaggle of girls and dump the whole concoction on an island in the West Indies?  Why you get our latest missionary family!

I am pleased to introduce you to Joshua and Maria Wesley, missionaries to Jamaica.  I've been following Mrs. Maria's blog, "Raising Four Princesses" for a while now and it's a fun read.  Here's where Mrs. Maria blogs - http://caribbeanmissionarywife.blogspot.com/.

Mrs. Maria uses her blog to show how God is working in her family as she recounts her adventures raising four young daughters on the mission field.  Followers of her blog can also keep up with her special listings where she shares craft tips, recipes and parenting tips from other bloggers.

If you want to see what life is like in Jamaica, run by and visit "Raising Four Princesses."  Then if you want, sign up for her email updates to you can keep the Wesley family in the forefront of your mind and prayers.

Please keep all of our missionaries in your thoughts and prayers.  These heroes have given so much so that others would have a chance to meet the Saviour.

 Remember our battle cry:  Pray More, Give More and if called, Go Farther an ever for the cause of the Gospel.

In Christ,

Bro.. Garry

If it's published, is it still Unpublished??

I know, I know. The headline doesn't make much sense; hang on for a minute and I'll try and clarify matters.

You see, I stumbled upon my latest blogger while poking around Facebook and was intrigued by the name, "A Story Unpublished." Since I really love reading missionary blogs, I followed the link and realized that the author is someone I've never before featured -- a Missionary Kid!

So I contacted Miss Noelle O'Brien (like I do with every new blogger), introduced myself and asked if I could publish "A Story Unpublished" (http://readnoelleobrien.blogspot.com/) in this space.

When she responded, Miss Noelle told me this is her second blog. "A Story Unpublished" began as a spinoff from her first blog, "Memoirs of an MK," which chronicled Miss Noelle's life growing up in Kharkov, Ukraine with her parents, veteran missionaries John and Cathy O'Brien.

Now that Miss Noelle has begin blazing a new trail (she currently is a student at Heartland Baptist Bible College in Oklahoma City), she has launched her new effort. I scrolled to the beginning of "A Story Unpublished" in December 2010 and found Miss Noelle's rationale for the new effort:

Today I've started up a new blog. The beginnings are always the end of something else. And although I feel that I will someday return to my kharkovgirl blog, Memoirs of an MK, life is changing and I'm changing with it.

This is a really unique blog and so is its author. Please take a few minutes to stop by and visit Miss Noelle. I really think you'll get a blessing from this young lady who is grabbing life and serving the Lord in two countries and across the blogosphere.

Please pray for Miss Noelle and all of the other missionaries you've met in this space. All our missionaries desperately need us to support them with our prayers, our encouragement and our faithful giving.

As always my prayer is that we will all Pray More, Give More and, if called, Go Farther for the cause of missions around the world.

Until next time, may God continue to soften your hearts to the needs of missionaries.

In Christ,

Bro. Garry

A return trip to Ukraine

Way back when God opened the door for me to start blogging about missionary bloggers, I introduced you to Jolene Sloan, a sweet lady who blogs from her field of Simferopol, Ukraine.

So far, God has brought me an incredible 25 missionary blogs and we're just getting started!! Today, we head back to Ukraine for Blog No. 26! Not only are we headed back to the same country, we're going to the same city! And, not only are we going to the same city, we're even going to the same church to meet our newest missionary!!

I am so excited to direct you to "Judy's Ukrainian Journal," the blogging home of Judy Van Zant, veteran missionary to Simferopol, Ukraine. You can find it on my blog list at right, or here: http://judys-ukrainian-journal.blogspot.com/.

Mrs. Judy and her husband, Bob Van Zant, have been serving the deaf in Simferopol for the past 15 years. They started in May 1996 with the deaf church. Within two years they added a hearing church and they haven't looked back. Simferopol Baptist Church has become an established and dynamic church.

While the family has been in Ukraine for a long time, Mrs. Judy is new to blogging. In fact, as of today she has only had three posts, so you can very easily catch up and be there for every posting from now on!

You can see in her posts that Mrs. Judy has a great love for her people and a great burden to see the people of Simferopol reached with the Gospel.

Please be in special prayer for the missionaries who serve in Ukraine, as so many have been forced out of the country due to changes in visa laws there. We know God is in control and that He has a plan for everything, so please pray with the Van Zant's that He will raise up an army of Ukrainians to lead God's churches in their country.

I would greatly encourage you to stop by and join Mrs. Judy's Journey. There is a place on the "contact" page to sign up for email updates, so be sure to do that and you'll know every time she posts something.

As always, when it comes to missions, we need to pray more, give more and, if God should call you to go, then go farther than ever for the cause of Missions.

In Christ,

Bro. Garry

A Mississippi Boy in Nigeria

So what do you get when you take a young man from Mississippi and a young lady from Louisiana, then toss them together into West Africa? Simple - today's featured missionary family.

Bro. Mark Holmes and his wife Sabrina are that couple and their blog is simply called, "Missionary Holmes," found here: http://missionaryholmes.blogspot.com/.

The Holmes family has served in Abuja, Nigeria, since 2005, where the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been proclaimed from the aptly-named Truth Baptist Church and taught at Temple Baptist Institute.

I enjoyed poking around Bro. Holmes' blog, because it contains a wealth of information about the family, their ministry and the country in which they serve. You can also find a number of ways to contact the family (which I suspect would be a real blessing to them!).

So stop on by and visit this family and their work and keep them in your prayers as they seek to reach their corner of the world for the cause of Christ.

As always, please remember to pray more, give more and, if God calls, go farther than before for the cause of world missions.

In Christ,

Bro. Garry

Giving their utmost to reach the Uttermost

Well, we've met veteran missionaries, rookie missionaries and missionaries who are still on deputation.

Today I want to introduce you to a couple who are really a blend of all of the above! I'm really excited about James and Amber Pranger, who are on deputation for the field of Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia. Mrs. Amber blogs at "Reaching the Uttermost in Siberia" (http://www.prangerstosiberia.blogspot.com.au/).

The Prangers are a mixed pair - Bro. James grew up on the mission field of Russia with his parents. Mrs. Amber grew up in Florida and earned the title of Missionary in 2010 when she married Bro. James.

One of the neatest things about following Bro. and Mrs. Pranger is that you can start the journey with this couple, as Mrs. Amber has only written two posts!

I'd really recommend you jump over there and sign up for the email updates. That way you can read the first two posts quick before Mrs. Amber starts posting in earnest.

Don't forget to support the Prangers with your prayers and sign up for their email updates. While you're at it, I'd appreciate it if you would sign up for my email updates as well!

Until next time, please keep missions in your mind -- pray more, give more and, if God calls you, go farther than ever before for the cause of missions.

In Christ,

Bro. Garry

Indonesia in their sights!

So stop me if you've heard this one before ... pastor of a church is praying for his upcoming mission conference, asking God to bring forth more laborers for the harvest. Yeah - you got it!

Phil Lien was the pastor in question when God laid upon his heart to leave the pulpit, pack up his family and travel to Indonesia where they will preach the Gospel to the largest Muslim population in the world.

After about a year on deputation, Bro. Lien, his wife Kristine and their three children are seeing the reality of their dream coming true, as they look forward to heading to the field later this year.

The Liens blog from their own website - http://lienmissions.com.

The blog is interspersed with their monthly ministry update letters, so you can follow just about everything they have been doing while on the deputation trail. Throughout the rest of the website are other tidbits of information about this family and their vision.

I encourage you to stop by and visit the Lien family, read their blog and check out the rest of the website, then keep them in your prayers as they finish deputation. Like so many others, the Liens are leaving their old lives behind to follow God's leading - in my book, that makes them heroes.

Please keep all of our missionary heroes in your prayers; my hope is that we will all pray more, give more and if God calls, go farther than ever before for the cause of world missions.

In Christ,

Bro. Garry

Doing God's work in Acre

OK, if I invited you to travel with me to the town of Rio Branco in the state of Acre, would you know where to go?

Don't feel bad - I didn't either, until I searched for the location of our newest missionary - Bro. Stephen Doolittle.

Turns out, Acre is located in far western Brazil, and Rio Branco is the capital of the state of Acre. It is here that the Doolittle family - Bro. Stephen, his wife Kelly and their four children - have been serving since 1999. You can read about their adventures in Bro. Stephen's and Mrs. Kelly's blog, "The Doolittles in Acre," which can be found here: http://www.doolittlesinacre.blogspot.com/. (By the way, since they don't have a link to their website from the blog, I'll sneak it in here: http://www.brazilianmissions.org)

It has been interesting to read some of their blog posts, to see how the Doolittles are impacting their region for the cause of Christ. I am especially impressed at how their older children have stepped up to help out in the work of the ministry.

I would encourage you to stop by and visit "The Doolittles in Acre" and rejoice with them in the victories they are experiencing in Acre. Don't forget to check back often; at this point there isn't an option to sign up for email updates.

For those of us who remain on the "home front," remember our missionary heroes. These are men and women who could be successful in business or ministry in the United States, but who have committed themselves and their families to take the Gospel to an unreached and dying world.

Our commitment needs to be that we will pray more, give more and, if God calls, go farther than ever before for the cause of world missions.

Enjoy the voyage and we'll see where God leads us next!

In Christ,

Bro. Garry

Thinking about the Cretzman family

For many of us in the Independent Baptist community, this week has been difficult as we have watched and read about the terrible accident that claimed the life of Azlynn Cretzman, the 3-year-old daughter of Bro. Matt and Mrs. Lana Cretzman, missionaries to Cuba.

Our hearts ache for this family as they have suffered such a horrible loss. Untold thousands of us have joined together in prayer around the world, lifting up this dear family as their tragedy is played out again and again in the media.

Earlier today I watched a video someone posted online from a news station in North Carolina, where this accident occurred. I was struck by Bro. Cretzman's calm spirit, his steady voice and his solid faith as he talked about the outpouring of love and support they have experienced in the days since he cradled his daughter in his arms as she slipped away into death by the side of a road.

I watched Bro. Cretzman stand before the camera and talk about the accident and I wondered if I could do such a thing in his place. Could I stand before the world and tell everyone that God has given me the grace to go on in the face of a catastrophe far worse than the worst thing that I could ever imagine? I hope I never have to find out.

I know that there are no words to say at a time like this other than, "Bro. and Mrs. Cretzman and little Maddi Cretzman, we love you and are praying for you." While even that is insufficient, we can say it knowing that the God of the universe knows exactly why this happened and what will happen as a result of it. He is always right and He is always good and He is always just.

Any time I hear of the death of a young child like this, I am drawn to II Samuel, where David sat by the bedside of his unnamed son and waited for the death foretold by the prophet Nathan. Hour after hour David kept vigil by the child, fasting and praying for his son. When the child died, David rose, washed, went to the house of God and worshiped.

While the circumstances surrounding the death of David's child were far different than those facing the Cretzman family, I think the principle is the same. Look at what David said when his servants questioned his reaction to the death of his son:

"[22] And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
[23] But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." II Sam. 12:22-23

I don't doubt that King David wept often in the time following the loss of his son, but his weeping was not "even as others which have no hope" II Thess. 4:13b. Likewise, the Cretzman family will weep many times as they reflect on the events of last Monday morning. Still they will be able to cling to that precious promise that they will one day see Azlynn again in a place where "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21:4.

We know that life will go on until the day that Christ calls His Bride home. The Cretzman family will recover from their physical injuries and will resume deputation, and eventually will go to Cuba, the land where God has called them to dedicate themselves for the furtherance of the Gospel. Other missionary families will take to the "deputation trail" and raise the support they need to take them to locations all around the globe. There may be more tragedies like this one last Monday, but God will always be faithful and His Name will be glorified in the midst of the most violent storm.

For those of us who stay at home, let us rededicate ourselves to do more for missions in the coming days, weeks, months and years. We are charged with holding up the arms of our missionaries as Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses during the battle.

Even now, God is speaking to boys and girls, men and women, calling them to dedicate themselves to go out into the farthest reaches of the world and seek the lost at any cost. May we dedicate ourselves to pray more, give more and go when He calls.

Yet at the same time, we must faithfully remain in the harvest field where He has called us to serve right now.

Let's join together to pray for the Cretzman family in their time of trial, and continue to pray for them and all the other missionaries who have given so much that the cause of Christ may be advanced.

In Christ,

Bro. Garry

My own special missionary!

I would like to take just a moment and introduce you all to my favorite missionary in the world! Twenty years ago today (Feb. 15, 1992), our own Bethany Wesner was born. Two decades later, she is now a second-year Spanish language student at Mount Hebron Baptist Bible Institute in Monterrey, Mexico.

Bethany has been the greatest blessing and a joy as her mother and I have watched her grow and mature into a beautiful young woman of God.

She is still seeking God's long-term path for her life, but for now, she is exactly where He wants her to be, learning Spanish and taking part in many ministries of Mount Hebron Baptist Church.

I enjoy Skyping with her as often as possible to hear about her latest adventures. Some days it's just piano class, Spanish Class and Chapel, but other days she is full of news about taking part in the bus ministry, ladies soul-winning, playing in the church orchestra or whatever else needs to be done.

Please keep Bethany in your prayers as she seeks what God would have her to do. She graduates language school this May and is eagerly looking toward what He has as the next step in her life's journey, whether that means continuing her mission training or something else entirely.

I love you Bethany and can't wait to see you continue to become the woman God wants you to be!

Daddy

A Family "Two-fer" in the West Indies

For some time now I have been eagerly anticipating the first real "milestone" in my blog - the 20th missionary blog to feature.

Now, thanks to the Gimenez family, I have passed that mark and added one!

That's right - today you get two blogs for the price of one! I am so thrilled to introduce you to my newest "virtual friends," Bro. Patrick and Mrs. Kami Gimenez. On top of that, you can read both blogs to learn about their life on a pioneering mission field - the small island of St. Barths in the West Indies.

Here's what you can find them - Bro. Patrick blogs at "Gimenez Family Life," which can be found here: http://www.gimenezfamilylife.blogspot.com/. Mrs. Kami has hers, "a day in the life of a missionary wife" here: http://adayinthelifeofamissionarywife.blogspot.com/.

So what will you find? Well, Bro. Patrick blogs about the family with a ministry focus, while Mrs. Kami blogs about the family from her perspective.

I really had a good time the other night, poking around both blogs. I have already signed up for email updates from both so I can see how they are assaying to reach the West Indies with the Gospel.

Please stop by and visit both Gimenez's blogs, then subscribe and sign up for the updates - you'll be glad you did. While you're at it, subscribe to my blog and sign up for my updates, too.

And just think - we're off toward another 20 blogs! I can't wait to see where God takes us next!

Remember our missionaries, pray for them, ask God to help you give more and if He has called you to go, then GO!!

In Christ,

Bro. Garry