Dear Friends,
Jeneen and I thank you for your prayers and support enabling us to minister in South Africa. We had the privilege of ministering at Lakeside Baptist Church where Lee Peterson is the pastor. He was away because his mother was in great need having had a stroke and other health issues. He, being an only child, has a lot of responsibility in her care. Thankfully she is now settled in a nursing home and doing much better. During his absence, I was able to teach and preach many times. Also, we hosted the Ministry Leadership Training Conference. It was three and a half hours of teaching. I spent a lot of time teaching from the table during our stay there. It is always a joy to share God’s Word with people who are hungry for more.
One of the great blessings was the fellowship of the believers there. They really reached out to us and we had great Bible discussions most every day with people of the church. It was very refreshing to see their desire to know God and His Word. It was very encouraging to Jeneen and me.
We also had great accommodations during our stay. Many mornings, we would have our devotions on the deck as the sun began to warm the day. The beauty of the summer was a huge contrast to the winter we were experiencing in the states. Yes, we are heading to Alaska March 16th. The weather extremes are not as hard as the time zone differences. We find the weather easier to adjust to than the time zones. South Africa to Alaska is an eleven hour difference. It is also from the bottom of the world to the top.
We had many opportunities to talk about salvation and the outworking of it in the life of the Christian. God is working there and many are growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. The Petersons are doing a good job in ministry. The Lord is greatly blessing their efforts. It was so evident in the life and growth of the church family.
We are getting ready for our next trip while holding meetings in Nyssa Oregon which is about an hour drive from our home. The Lord has already blessed in the meetings and we are seeing good things. Sunday was a high attendance since their new pastor has come. They had 25 in the service. Today, we are going out early to do some calling with Pastor Doug Sondergaard before the evening service. Thank you all for your prayers and continued support of what God has called us to do.
Monte Leavell 