Deputation Update

3/11/2008

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you all for your prayers during this past week of travels! On Monday and Tuesday we had a couple days at home to wash clothes before heading back out. On Wednesday we went to Faith Baptist Church right here in Shelby and were given a little bit of time to tell the church of our burden for Brazil. On Thursday we left for Asheboro, NC to catch the last day of the missions conference at Fayetteville Street Baptist Church. Jeremy was able to present our burden for Brazil and then preach. The church had a very nice missions house where they let us stay for the night. It is always nice to have more than one room to squeeze all the family into! The folks there were very gracious to us, and we were told that later down the road they might partner with us in financial support.

On Friday we drove to New Bern, NC for the remainder of a missions conference at Calvary Baptist Church. Their pastor, Bill Wingard, is the man who founded our mission board many years ago. The church there was very kind to us and provided our meals and lodging. There was a service on Friday night, but we were given Saturday off. Since New Bern is out on the coast, we drove a little ways out and enjoyed looking out on the water. On Sunday, we were given most of the Sunday School hour to sing, present our ministry, and preach. Also, Jeremy was given the opportunity to preach to the Christian School on Monday morning before we left.

Another blessing of traveling with children is the many opportunities they open up to witness. In restaurants and stores, people are always coming up wanting to see the baby and talk to Allie. This has opened many doors to witness and hand out tracts with the Gospel. On Thursday night, we were at McDonald’s and Allie ran up to a little Hispanic girl and gave her a hug as if she had known her forever. We were able to chat for a second with the little girl’s mom and give her a Gospel tract to read.

Yesterday, on the way home, we stopped at a motel parking lot so Esther could nurse Bethany. Allie was sitting in the front seat in Jeremy’s lap playing games with her daddy. While they were playing, one of the motel maids got in her car to leave, and Allie began to wave at her. Jeremy motioned for the lady to wait a second, and he carried Allie over to her car window with a tract. Allie handed the tract to the lady and Jeremy had a minute to say a kind word. I think that even the most hateful of people will take a Gospel tract from the hand of a little girl!

We were supposed to be heading to Indiana for Wednesday, but Jeremy came down with some kind of bug. We canceled the meeting and came home for a week of rest. Please pray for our health as we prepare to travel again next week! Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.

With Grateful Hearts,

Jeremy and Esther Lockhart