STATE MISSIONS: Psalm 23 (Part 6)
Psalm 23:4 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”We are viewing the annual pilgrimage of the sheep to their summer pasture and then their return to lower grazing until winter drives them back to the ranch headquarters.
This final segment of the yearly operation is described in the last half of this Psalm. During this time, the flock is entirely alone with the shepherd. Note the first-person language and remember that this is done against a dramatic background of mountains, rivers and lush ranges.
David knew that kind of terrain. When Samuel came to anoint him king, he was not at home but in the hills tending his father’s sheep. He knew firsthand all the difficulties and dangers and the delights of the treks into the high country. He never took his flock where he had not already been. He knew all the dangers of rampaging rivers, avalanches, rockslides, wild animals and more. Nothing surprised him, for he was fully prepared and skilled under every circumstance.
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “Sayra and I visited a brother at the Winnfield Correctional Center in Louisiana this week. He is a Nicaraguan who was on Humanitarian Parole. On the day of his appointment to report to the ICE offices, he called to postpone his appointment. When he arrived the next day, he was told he could no longer return home. His lawyer doesn’t offer much hope for a favorable resolution to his case.
“When we spoke with him, he told us he was initially very anxious, but now he has understood that he is in God’s hands and is praying for His will to be done in his life. He also mentioned that he is supporting the leader of some Bible study meetings that are being held internally. We had a time of biblical reflection, prayed and expressed our love for him in Christ. We know that wherever our brother is, he’ll share the gospel. We regret that it probably won’t be with us, but we are satisfied that we took advantage of the opportunity God gave us to invest in his life. We can see his spiritual growth in the way he’s facing the current situation.
“In our Sunday meeting, we began a series of Old Testament summaries, discussing the theme of the Chosen, based on the book of Genesis. God bless you, and thank you for supporting this work.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “This week has been very active. In our Discovery Bible Study (DBS), we had a visitor from Panama. Let us pray that the Word of God will bear fruit in his time.
“I also visited our sister Avelina Santos in the hospital. At 89 years old, she is our oldest member. She had internal bleeding, which fortunately was detected in time. I thank God that she is already home recovering. Please pray for her. God willing, we will celebrate her 90th birthday in November.
“The recent storm in Arkansas left several of our members without electricity, but some were unable to congregate. We thank God that all are alive, although some are facing difficulties. I ask you to pray for me as well — as my health has not been very good due to temperature changes and pollen. Although I have not stopped serving, coughing and other symptoms have made it more difficult. I appreciate your prayers.”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “What a great week we had at Faith Chapel! Our number was down this week, but we still had a great time of worship. I don’t think it was people out traveling or sick as much as it was the weather. Just like the rest of Arkansas, we had an abundance of rain with local flooding. Our total was 9.75 inches from Thursday to Sunday, but we did not have any damage that I am aware of currently. Praise God!
“Our Wednesday night youth program is starting up, and everyone is excited and looking forward to beginning. I’m sure there will be a learning curve, but we have some very experienced and enthusiastic volunteers. We also have some great kids, so I’m sure it will be a great success. Thank you all for your prayers and support; we cherish both!”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “Over the past several weeks, we have witnessed the Lord’s hand moving in remarkable ways at Faith Journey and in the lives of our families. One such instance occurred just this past Friday night as a powerful storm was heading straight for our house. We were watching the news as the storm intensified.
The newscaster mentioned that the storm had been hit by a rush of cold air just before it reached us, which slowed its energy and lessened its impact. It was a clear reminder of how God intervenes at just the right time. He spared us from harm and showed His protection.
“But that wasn’t the only instance of God’s faithfulness in the past few weeks. This past Sunday, our church hosted two worship services. During the morning service, we were blessed with three first-time visitors. After the service, we received a text message from them sharing how much they loved the service and the music. They indicated they would definitely be coming back. It was encouraging to see how God is bringing new faces to our church and opening hearts to His Word.
“I also had the privilege of hearing a beautiful testimony from a grandmother and her granddaughter, who have been attending our church for the past month or two. The grandmother shared how they read stories together each night. When I asked her if she had a children’s Bible to read, she said she did not, so I gave them one. The grandmother shared that, every night, her granddaughter brings her the Bible and says, ‘It’s time for our story and our prayer.’ Over the last three or four weeks, it has been a blessing to watch them grow in their faith.
“These stories remind us of the faithfulness of God in both the big and small things. He is present, guiding us through storms, bringing new people into His fold and working in the hearts of families to deepen their relationship with Him.”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “This has been one of those unique weeks for us as a family. With a week of intense rains, we have been in the middle of moving to a new, smaller apartment, with all our things (i.e., clothes, books in boxes, etc.). We were finally able to move everything on Saturday, despite the rain. A group of brothers from our church and Claudia (our daughter), her husband and our grandchildren helped us.
“We continue to work with our core group who has joined our plant each week. (Sister Iris, Frank & Mayerlin, their daughter Ashley, Angela, Angela and Angela.) We meet together to be equipped for ministry. What the Lord is doing in our missionary project of English classes for the Hispanic community of Northwest Arkansas is beautiful. Every week there are more people interested.
“For Easter, we have two services planned — one on Palm Sunday and another on Easter Sunday, where we will have a special breakfast before the services. The brothers will bring a typical dish from their country to share with others. We will have food from Colombia, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Mexico and Venezuela. We ask for your prayers so that many people will visit us and hear the gospel that day.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “Wednesday night, our Woodbridge Connection Group had a powerful study and great time reminiscing. Due to sickness, our group ended up just being the ‘OG’s’ — the families that started that group nearly three years ago. We were shocked it had been so long.
We pulled out pictures and were equally shocked at how much our children had grown. We even celebrated that the host family was getting a new couch that weekend because our Bible studies had worn their other one out. It was a great milestone.
“We celebrated how our Garfield Connection Group has persevered and prayed for more groups. We’ve had a new group of men meeting the last two Saturday nights, which produced a first-time visitor this week. We also look forward to a student gathering this Sunday.”
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Paul White
Arkansas State Missions Director Paul White pens a weekly column to inform the BMA of Arkansas concerning Arkansas Missions’ activity and includes individual reports from each church planter.
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