From Darkness to Light

Pastor Doug Rogers

From Rogers City Baptist Church we headed to meet with the Berean Baptist Church in Mackinaw City, MI. The church is led by Pastor Doug Rogers who has been here for many years. He also started Faith Baptist Church in Berne, Indiana which is a partner with our ministry. Their missions conference was going to be starting the following weekend and their theme was "From Darkness to Light". However, the week prior to their conference they take the missionaries along with their staff to the Servants Retreat on Mackinaw Island.

Meily from Thailand

I already put this story out in our latest letter, but while we were waiting for the group to arrive in Mackinaw City we grabbed a bite to eat and met a Thai girl working at the establishment that we were eating at. She is Buddhist, but we had a chance to lay the foundation of the Gospel out for her. She was getting ready to return to Thailand in a few days and lives in area we have been at before. In fact my wife has been texting with her since her departure and we are going to be sending a missionary we know in Thailand to follow up on her and hopefully we will be able to report to you soon that she has been born again! Please pray for Meily to get saved when our missionary friends visit her.  

Dr. Jim Green

The Servants Retreat is hosted by Dr. Don Green and his son Dr. Jim Green. It is a wonderfully refreshing and relaxing time. We got to stay several nights at the famous Grand Hotel which had Vice President Mike Pence staying there the previous week before we arrived. As much as I like our Vice President, the crowd staying during the Servants Retreat is a more important crowd in God's eyes as it is a group of men of God!

The men of God at the Retreat

The guest speaker for the retreat was Evangelist Tim Green. He preached a great message both Tuesday night and Wednesday night as well as in the split sessions on Wednesday morning. We enjoyed hearing him as well as Dr. Don Green who also preached on Wednesday morning with Holy Spirit fullness!

Brother Tim Green

On Wednesday evening before the preaching Brother Jim Green asked Pastor Russell Tharp from Bible Baptist Church in Central Lake, Michigan to sing a special. He sang "We Believe" and did an absolutely fantastic job at it! As hearts were stirred from the singing, Brother Tim Green got up and preached a great message!

Pastor Tharp singing

During the refreshment time on Tuesday evening before the service started my wife had a chance to give the Gospel to a young man who was standing by as an attendant for the refreshments. His name was Jayson and he is from the Philippines. After my wife took him through the plan of salvation he had to get to work, so my wife left him a Gospel tract. (Many foreigner works are brought in here to work the tourist season and then return to their countries during the winter time.) The next morning Mrs. Terri Green told us that after the service last night she tried to give this young Filipino fellow a tract and he already had one and showed her our tract. He also told her that he prayed and asked Christ to save him. Praise God.... but wait, it gets better than that. Jayson approached us on Wednesday evening before the service and thanked my wife for sharing the Gospel with him. He said that after she talked to him he felt conviction and knew that he needed to trust the Saviour! He told us he bowed his head and prayed and asked Christ to save him!!!

Jayson who trusted Christ

We headed back to the mainland on Thursday and drove four and half hours to Adrian to prepare for the missions conference. We are thankful for the Berean Baptist Church taking us on this retreat and a special thank you to Brother Kevin Chase who is in charge of the group in the church that takes care of us for this conference and paid our way to go to the retreat, because it does cost a significant amount to be able to go. For us this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we are thankful for it!!! By the way Brother Chase is the administrator of Berean Baptist Academy.

Brother Kevin Chase

We stayed with Dr. Mike Cox and his wife during the conference. Brother Cox is one of the former pastors of Berean Baptist Church and is the founder of the FBMI mission board. He and his wife are our friends and they currently help Harvest Baptist Church in Grasslake which is a partnering church with us. Speaking of Harvest Baptist Church, I ate lunch with their new pastor, Brother Kelly Daniel. Brother Daniel has been there just a little over a month and is a good friend of mine as well. He and I were actually ordained on the exact same day at the same time... July 4, 2001. It was good to talk with him and see how he is settling into the new church. Unfortunately, I failed to get a picture with him. Lol!

Dr. Mike Cox

On Saturday my wife and I went out soul winning with Berean Baptist Church. I went out and pounded doors with Brother Doug Campbell and my wife went separate with his wife and another lady named Phyllis. I was able to lead a man named Emmanuel to Christ who just moved from Detroit. He wasn't able to come on Sunday but said he wants to make it next week.

Phyllis and my wife

On Sunday morning my wife and went to the Shepherds class, which is a class for special education adults. We enjoyed meeting the people as I tried to shake hands with every person in there, which there was a lot of folks in there, probably at least 60 folks. I taught a lesson and then my wife and I answered questions about Thailand. Brother Doug Campbell, my soul winning partner from Saturday, was the song leader for the class and introduced me to the class.

Brother Doug Campbell

After Sunday school I taught in the one of the junior churches and my wife and I told them about Thailand after the invitation time. Two young ladies got saved during the invitation time. My wife did an excellent job teaching them about Thai customs and telling them many Thai sayings...  On Sunday night all the missionaries gave a flag presentation for their country and then Missionary Ben Turner preached the evening message.

Mrs. Painter talking to junior church

On Monday morning Brother Turner preached Chapel and then Pastor Rogers took the men out and bought them new suits in Toledo. Then Monday night Missionary Ben Turner gave an update of his work in Canada and preached the evening message. Brother Turner started a church in the Vancouver area in 2001 and has been faithfully serving there since. His son is currently on deputation as a missionary going to Uganda and was also at this conference.

Missionary Ben Turner in between his son and father

Tuesday morning Brother Turner's son, Caleb preached the chapel service and my wife and I spoke to some of the elementary kids after the service about Thailand. We had a great time and the kids really enjoyed listening to us tell them about various custom differences. In the afternoon the missionary wives were taken shopping in Toledo to get a new outfit to go with the husband's new suits. Then on Tuesday evening another missionary presented his work and preached.

My wife teaching the kids

Wednesday morning there was a men's breakfast. We had a great meal and then the missionaries all gave their salvation testimony's. I told about mine and then how I was called from being a deputy sheriff to going into the ministry first as a pastor and then becoming a missionary.

Men's Breakfast

After the men's breakfast I preached the morning chapel service. I preached to a good crowd of not only kids, but adults. Many stayed over for chapel after the men's breakfast was over. I preached on "The Compassion of Christ" and hearts seemed stirred. Their students are very attentive and well behaved which is a blessing!

Preaching Chapel

After lunch on Wednesday we had a question and answer time with all of the high school kids. All the missionaries were included in this and there were a lot of great questions. Then we went soul winning with the teenagers. My partner was Jacob and we knocked on many doors. We were privileged enough to have a man named Robert answer the door. I was able to not only invite him to church but talk to him about his eternity. He didn't know if he would go to Heaven when he dies, but said he would like to know that. I then took him through the plan of salvation with my New Testament and after about 15 minutes of talking and explaining Robert bowed his head and asked Christ to be his Saviour. Praise God!

My partner Jacob

On Thursday morning after attending chapel we went to the Senior Citizens service for a question and answer time with all of the missionaries. We talked and answered questions for the Senior Citizens of the church and then afterwards ate lunch with them. It was blessing to spend time with these precious folks. This church covers every aspect of getting their missionaries for their conferences in touch with every level of their church. We met with every group and level of people while here. It is a very missions minded church!

Lunch with Senior Citizens

Thursday night is the final service of this conference. It was now my turn to present our mission before the entire church and to preach the final message. God seemed to truly bless the service as I presented and then preached the Word of God. During the invitation the altars filled up with people moving forward and making decisions. After the service the Faith Promise Commitment cards were collected and then pictures were taken with each group and their missionary family. Each missionary has a different group assigned to it and that group takes care of the missionary during the conference and if the church partners with the missionary that group continues to pray for and be a blessing to that missionary family. Afterwards each group host a shower of blessings party for their missionary family. This was a tremendous blessing for us as these sweet folks fulfilled many things of need for our mission to Thailand. We cannot thank Pastor Rogers and this church for all the goodness that they did for us. Please pray for us as we head to a missions conference in Iowa on Friday. Also, please pray for Berean Baptist Church as many of them are headed to Belize next week for a missions trip.

Missionaries with Pastor and his wife

  

Indianapolis to Rogers City, Michigan

Pastor John Ray

On Wednesday we were at Southeast Baptist Tabernacle in Indianapolis. This church has been led by Pastor John Ray since 1991. I presented during their morning service that they have for their senior citizens and second shift workers. The folks enjoyed our video and my testimony. Then after the service we handed out prayer cards and visited with several folks about the great need in Thailand. Then in the evening service I presented again to the adults and then went and presented to the teen group and preached the evening message to them. Hearts seemed stirred and many teens had questions about the mission field. The teenagers are led by Brother Andrew Solarek who is the Youth Pastor and seems to have a great connect with these young people. 

Brother Andrew Solarek

Then we traveled to Rogers City, Michigan for a weekend meeting at Rogers City Baptist Church in Rogers City. This church has been led by Pastor David Rogers for the past 15 years. We enjoyed getting to meet the people at an afternoon activity at the pastor's house. Many folks came out and the pastor had an old fashioned cider press and made apple cider for everyone. It reminded me of the great fun we would have at our church activities back when I was the pastor in Lincoln.

Pastor David Rogers

Pastor Rogers working the press

On Sunday I and my wife both gave testimonies and we showed our video and then taught the morning lesson to several adult classes and to the teenagers in a combined class setting. Pastor Rogers preached the morning service and afterwards we gave out prayer cards and visited with many folks. That afternoon we went to the nursing home with the pastor and he asked me to preach. Before the service I had a chance to give out a couple of tracts in the hallway and invite some of the residents to the service. One man I even tried to witness to but he wasn't very open to me presenting the Gospel. I then preached the nursing home service and was encouraging the people about praising God and then I also preached the plan of salvation and gave an invitation afterwards. 

The Nursing Home

Then in the evening service Pastor Rogers called us up to answer questions about our ministry and Thailand. Then he had me preach the evening message. I preached and many after the service told me that they enjoyed the message. I had an opportunity to witness to a man after the service, but I was unable to convince him that he was lost. Overall we really enjoyed the spirit of the church folks. Please pray for them as they will be emphasizing missions for the next month. I will be sending out my monthly update letter tomorrow.

"Missions Means Me" in Grove City, Ohio

Pastor Stan Slabaugh

After the missions conference in Bourbonnais ended Wednesday night we journeyed to Bible Baptist Church in Grove City, Ohio for the start of their missions conference. This church has been led by Pastor Stan Slabaugh for the last 14 years. The theme for the conference was "Missions Means Me" and the guest speaker was Missionary Walter Stevens who is a 30 year missionary to the Roma people in Eastern Europe.

Missionary Stevens

On Thursday night I presented our mission to Thailand and preached a short message before making way for the special speaker. Brother Stevens did a wonderful job and hearts were stirred at the invitation time. God really blessed the kick-off to the service. 

Speaking Thursday Night

On Friday morning there was an activity for the missionaries to the Anthony-Thomas candy factory in Columbus. It was neat to see how the candy is made and how the operation works. We appreciated then pastor and his staff taking us out on the tour.

On the way to the tour

Then Friday there was another great service. Another presentation was given and the missionary preached a short message and then Brother Stevens preached up a storm afterwards. God blessed and people were stirred once again. 

The parade

Then on Saturday morning we marched in a parade and handed out John and Romans to everyone along the two mile parade route. Bible Baptist Church had a float and threw out candy as we worked the sidelines with the John and Romans. Toward the end of the route I was able to talk to a young adult named Timothy who just moved to the area from Youngstown. I invited him to church and then asked him about his eternity. He said that he had been saved before, but didn't know that he was going to Heaven. He told me that he hadn't been living right. I presented the Gospel to Timothy and I explained to him that works have nothing to do with salvation and that he can't begin to live right until he has the Holy Spirit of God living on the inside and that comes through trusting Christ as his personal Saviour. Timothy bowed his head and asked Christ to save him. Timothy said he is going to come to church, but didn't make it Sunday morning. Please pray for him to come next week and for him to grow in the Lord.

Float for Bible Baptist Church

Then Saturday evening the church had an International Dinner with the evening service to follow. Brother Xavier Parak missionary to Siberia presented his work. This is his home church and he has gone to the church I use to pastor and presented his work there. This brother is going to a very needy field and I believe he is going to do a great job. I actually met him on a Wednesday night at my home church over a year ago. He had already speaks Japanese because he lived in Japan once and is learning Russian now. He is very good with linguistics! Brother Stevens preached another great message afterwards and all the missionaries were blessed by the church after the service with some special gifts.

Missionary Parak

On Sunday morning I taught a boys Sunday school class and my wife taught a girls Sunday school class. It was a great time for both of us to spend some time with the kids and to get to know the teachers a little better.

Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. McKeon

Bro. McKeon and Bro. Wallace

Then the morning service was spectacular with an awesome spirit in the service. The choir and special music was great and the auditorium was full. Brother Stevens preached another great message and decisions were made at the invitation time.

Great Sunday morning crowd

Great music and orchestra

 Then Sunday night was the finish to a great conference. Brother Stevens who is already supported by this church went ahead and presented his work for an update. It was a blessing to hear about all the Roma Gyspies that they have reached and churches they have started. He preached a great message and at the end of the service the pastor announced how much they raised in Faith Promise and it was $5,000 more than raised last year. The pastor also announced that all of the missionaries will be picked up for support. Praise the Lord! We will be heading to Indianapolis tomorrow for our next meeting. 

Great Start in Bourbonnais to Kickoff the Rust Belt Tour of Missions Conferences

Pastor Terry Anglea

We transitioned from Reno, Nevada to Bourbonnais, Illinois this past week. Taking a couple day pit stop in Lincoln, Nebraska along the way. Just long enough to catch Wednesday night service and go soul winning on Thursday night which allowed both my wife and I to see someone trust Christ as their Saviour. Then by the weekend we were with Faith Baptist Church of Bourbonnais for their missions conference. The theme of the conference is "For God." This church has been led by Pastor Terry Anglea for 29 years. I was told before I came that it is a great church and I would have to say that it is a great church with an unbelievable vision and heart for missions as well as winning the souls of the lost of their own area. They support over 200 missionaries which is impressive, but they are balanced by having many bus routes and a solid soul winning program!

Bro. Nemeth (right side) and helper Bro. Prather

Sunday morning I taught in the 4th through 6th grade boys class. The teacher of this class is Brother Ray Nemeth who has been in this class for 20 years. I taught a short lesson and then spent time telling about Thailand and the work we are going to do. The class was very attentive! My wife taught the girls 4th through 6th grade class and said she had a great time in there as well. 

Bro. Lucco and Bro. Betterton with some of their students

Then during the morning service the pastor introduced all the missionaries and then had us go teach some more classes. I taught the bus kid boys class 4th through 6th grade and my wife taught the girls. We had a great time, although these guys were a little bit more rowdy, LOL! Overall though they were good kids. I did the same thing in their class as I had earlier in the day. This class was led by Brother Tony Lucco and his helper Brother Tom Betterton.

Brother Ed Bragg

Afterwards I was taken to lunch by Brother Ed Bragg. He told me when he walked up to me that I looked familiar. I told him that my wife and I had visited his church in the Saint Louis area back in 1997 while traveling through. Brother Bragg use to be the pastor of Lafayette Bible Baptist Church around Pacific, MO. He just recently retired and his wife and he just joined the church here. His son is the principle of the Christian school here. We had a great time of fellowship at lunch. It was great to meet him again all these years later and we discovered that truly it is a small world!

Pastor Scott Hanks

On Sunday evening we listened to a missionary presentation and then guest speaker Pastor Scott Hanks. Pastor Hanks is the pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Lawrence, Kansas. I have known Pastor Hanks since 2003 and over the years have become good friends. He had preached in my church when I was a pastor and I in his, also, my daughter-in-law comes from his church... so the connections are many, oh, plus Heritage Baptist Church is a partner with us!!! Pastor Hanks preached a great message Sunday night and Monday morning at the 11:00 AM service.

Pastor Hanks preaching at 11 AM service

In the afternoon I taught the missions class in the high school to about 35 students. My wife and I had a great time in the class. I taught a lesson on compassion and then answered questions about Thailand. The questions were good and the kids enjoyed some of the stories that went along with it all. The class was coordinated by Brother Mike Bragg, who is the administrator of the entire Christian school. It is a great school with a great group of students being led by a great staff! God is blessing their efforts here in the school as they have sent many onto Bible college and then into full time Christian service.

Teaching the missions class

On Monday night Pastor Hanks preached another great message out of 2 Corinthians 8. Hearts were stirred and the altars full at the invitation time. Then on Tuesday morning before the preaching they had a contest with all of the missionaries. There were different contest with points being awarded for each contest. There were students selected that were able to pick the missionary that would compete for them. The prize would be to eat with the pastor and the missionaries at lunch. I was able to win it for my student! Afterwards one of the missionaries preached a good message.

Sinking my putt

Then Tuesday night there was another missionary presentation and Pastor Hanks preached again. This time he preached a message from Philippians chapter 4 about having fruit abounding to your account. He used the missionaries to illustrate this by having us come up and put fruit in the basket he provided. It was a great message and once again hearts were stirred!

Putting my fruit in the basket

Then Wednesday morning we heard a good message from one of the missionaries and then after lunch we enjoyed a men's shooting activity. We had a great time of fellowship with some of the staff as well as other missionaries. A special thank you to Brother Joe Griffin for taking us out!

Out at the shooting range

Then Wednesday night I presented the work to Thailand. I gave testimony and showed our video. Then I was honored to be able to preach the finally message of the conference as Pastor Hanks had now returned to Lawrence to be with his church. The message went well and hearts seemed stirred at the invitation time. After the invitation was over Pastor Anglea announced about a young man named Christian (age 12) surrendering to become a missionary. He even had all of the missionaries come forward and lay hands on him and pray for him. Praise the Lord! Pray for Christian and his future service for our Saviour. Also please pray us to have travel safety as we journey to Grove City, Ohio on Thursday for the start of another conference that night.

Christian and myself (along with my wife)

  

Great Meeting in Reno, Nevada

Pastor Randy Ralstin

This past weekend we spent with Lighthouse Baptist Church in Reno, Nevada. This church was started by Pastor Randy Ralstin in 1987 and is still led by this man of God today. It all started Friday night as the church was having a marriage retreat that he invited my wife and I to attend. We had a great time attending it and getting to know the great folks of the church. On Friday night all of the couples took a tour from restaurant to restaurant like a progressive dinner on the church bus which was to act as an airplane touring from foreign city to foreigner city trying different types of foods.

Pastor Ralstin leading a song on the bus

During this tour, we made an extended stop at an Italian place with a conference room so the guest speaker could share to us from the Word of God about our relationships. The food was great and we enjoyed getting to fellowship with other believers and enjoyed the good food. I was also able to give out a Gospel tract as a man commented about me carrying my Bible. 

My wife and I right before the devotional

The guest speaker was Pastor Bud Silva from Coast Hills Baptist Church in Santa Maria, California. He and his wife did a fantastic job on Friday night and Saturday morning as we had split sessions. We enjoyed the retreat and getting to the pastor and his family as well as the guest speaker and his wife. My daughters enjoyed helping the pastor's daughter in the nursery both Friday night and Saturday morning.

Pastor's daughter Rachelle

On Sunday it was Faith Promise Mission Sunday, which Pastor Silva would be the speaker for that as well. He did a great job teaching Sunday school and preaching the morning and evening services. During the morning service the pastor had me give a little information about myself and show my video. Then after the service we visited with many church folks about Thailand and gave out our prayer cards,

Pastor Bud Silva

Then Sunday evening my girls sang a special and the pastor had me give my testimony not only about my becoming a missionary, but how I went from being a deputy sheriff to bible college to the pastorate to the mission field. Then Pastor Silva got up and preached his testimony which is an incredible heart stirring story! The altars were full at the invitation and it was obvious that people had been stirred. Please pray for Pastor Ralstin and his family as they continue to labor to reach this needy city for Christ. Also, pray for us as we travel to Faith Baptist Church in Bourbonnais, Illinois for the start of many missions conferences across the rust belt states. Pray for traveling mercies and for us to win soul souls along the way! 

My daughters singing Sunday night

  

Christian Men's Shoot 2019

Christian Men's Shoot 2019

This past Saturday I was asked to speak at the 6th annual Christian Men's Shoot at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Winnemucca, Nevada. Pastor Doug Mondt has been at this church for 19 years and holds an annual men's shooting contest every Labor Day weekend. They compete in five different competitions and there are multiple churches that come out for this every year. I even did a little shooting myself in a couple of events.

Skeet Shoot Competition

After lunch time I preached a devotional message to challenge men to be the kind of Christian that they should be. Then I preached the Gospel and gave an invitation. One man named James raised his hand testifying that he was unsure about his salvation. I visited with James after the service and he told me that he has been in and out of church over the years. He also told me that he has made a profession of accepting Christ before, but he doesn't think that he would go to Heaven. I addressed several issues with James including that good works have nothing to do with salvation and then I explained to him that I was not visiting with him just to try to get him to pray a prayer, but that I wanted him to make his own decision about whether he wanted to trust Christ as his Saviour and be 100% sure about his salvation. He told me that he already knew he was unsure about his salvation before I preached... but after listening to me preach he felt like I wouldn't try to force anything on him and that I would help him, so he raised his hand. He then told me he wanted to trust Christ and he bowed his head and asked Christ to save him. To God be the glory for using a sinner like me to help someone else come to Christ!

Pastor Mondt giving instructions

On Sunday we attended Sunday morning services. Pastor Mondt taught Sunday school and preached a wonderful Sunday morning message on what is not for sell! Sunday evening I presented our ministry and preached the evening message. We enjoyed our time here this weekend. They had wonderful special music and the church is getting ready to expand their Sunday school program. May the Lord richly bless this church as they continue to reach this unique area with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Pastor Mondt and his wife are originally from Nebraska... I knew they were good folks!!!!

Pastor Doug Mondt

On Wednesday evening we went to Victory Baptist Church in Fallon, Nevada. This church is led by Pastor Steven Miller, who was out of town this evening, which I knew ahead of time that he would be gone. Pastor Miller has been the pastor here since 2015 after many years as a missionary in Mexico. He has done a good job as the church is clearly a very missions minded church and we enjoyed presenting the work to them and visiting with them about Thailand. My daughters sang a special and then I preached the evening message. God blessed as many came up to me after words telling me how much they enjoyed it! Please pray for us to have a good meeting with Lighthouse Baptist Church in Reno this coming weekend. We are looking forward to spending the weekend with them for their Great Commission/Faith Promise emphasis Sunday!

My daughters singing

Preaching the evening message