Deputation Update

January 14, 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

We spent last week at home in North Carolina packing up and getting ready to travel. On Saturday we left out and drove to Edinburg, VA. We stayed the night in a prophet's chamber there and dropped into two different churches in Winchester, VA on Sunday. We didn't have any scheduled meetings but always like to visit new churches with the hope of getting a meeting with them later.

After the morning service at one church in Winchester we stopped at Red Lobster for lunch. Someone had given us a gift certificate for Christmas, and we were excited about some good seafood. After we were seated at the restaurant we looked across the aisle and noticed some folks that were dressed up. We asked them what church they were from and found that this was the pastor of the church we were planning on dropping in that night. He told us to come and he would give us a few minutes to share a short testimony. After lunch, the waitress told us that our bill had already been paid by the "people at the other table!" Although the waitress didn't know who "those people" were, we knew it was God using this pastor to be a blessing to us.

After the service that night, the pastor invited us back for a meeting later this year. Also, as Jeremy was calling churches today to fill in our schedule, he talked to one pastor in North Carolina who said that he had just seen us in Virginia. Although we didn't know it, this pastor was visiting his daughter at the same church in Winchester and heard Jeremy give his testimony. We were encouraged and knew all this was no coincidence but was arranged by the hand of the Lord.

Meetings have seemed to be tougher to come by this year, but God used this arrangement to remind us that He can get us the needed meetings and support in His perfect time! We also had Esther's first doctor appointment since we found out she was expecting. The baby is 10 1/2 weeks old and the ultrasound showed him to be developing well! We are eager to see this new little one in August and thank the Lord for this new "reward" from the Lord! Thank you all for your faithful prayers and support.

With Grateful Hearts,

Jeremy and Esther Lockhart