| |
Dear Friends,
I just finished a study of the life of Peter using the book: The Making of A Disciple: A Study of Discipleship from the Life of Simon Peter, by Kenneth Frederick, BJU Press. This is a good book and gives practical applications for the discipleship of others. As I closed the last chapter this morning and prayed, I have come to realize that there is a lot of Peter in me. I am not talking about the great exploits of Peter as we read in the book of Acts, but the struggling Peter as he came to maturity. The book of 2 Peter closes with an instruction to “grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (3:18).” I had to ask myself the question, “Do I know Jesus Christ?” I am saved without a shadow of a doubt. I want to know more and more the heart of our Savior, not just facts about Him, and have more and more of His heart in me.
BALTIMORE: We have enjoyed traveling this year, but we must be honest. As much as we enjoy being on the road and visiting churches, we are just as happy to return home and be in our own neighborhood. We are about a mile from where we both grew up and our church where we were saved, baptized, married and called into ministry. We were able to invite both our families here last month and had some wonderful times with them. We went to see the Baltimore Orioles play, which is a Stoughton family tradition (and they even won that game). We ended the weekend at church worshipping our Lord, and then I had the privilege to baptize some of our own family members at Temple Baptist Church, in Glen Burnie, MD. What a joy it was for us all! Our time has been good, although we do ask for prayer for Gayle’s cousin, John Stoughton, whose Mother went home to be with the Lord. Some may be wondering when we return to Ivory Coast – it won’t be until March of 2011.
COTE D’IVOIRE: Even though we are progressing through our schedule to go to the churches and individuals that support us, we are still in constant contact with those with whom we work in Africa.
1. Pastor Emmanuel completed the school year. He also scheduled a seminar for the Bible Institute addressing the error of “the prosperity gospel” which is very rampant in the Ivory Coast. He also oversees the Bookstore/cyber-café. He informed me of two major repairs to our two photocopiers (we really need to purchase new ones) and a problem with the network with the computers.
2. Pastor Parfait is continuing to work with the church and always gives positive reports. He would like to see the faithful youth go to camp, but they are really without the finances to go.
3. Pasteur Bertin in Divo had their first service in their new building on July
4. This building is not their church building, but a building that will be used as Sunday school rooms once a sanctuary is built. Pray for the financial needs for the next phase of construction.
5. Anoh and Gnakale, two of our students, are living in our house in San Pedro while we are gone. They also take care of our two Rottweilers. Gnakale lost his Muslim brother in June.
6. Mr. Silue, a deacon from our first church plant, takes care of our finances for our house and our support to works on the field while we are here in the US. He is truly a faithful man for whom I give God praise! With this group of people in constant contact with us through email and SKYPE, we feel as though we are keeping in touch with our partners in ministry.
MOM: Please pray for Gayle’s mom, Valerie Stoughton. She was admitted to the hospital three days last month followed by three weeks of therapy at a nursing home. This led to her being admitted as a permanent resident. This has brought Gayle and Charlene much pain. Pray for Mom that she will adjust well to her new environment. Although Mom has the beginning stages of dementia, she is still able to converse and still remembers (with a few hints) who we are. It is hard to leave her after a visit. If you live near the Golden Living Nursing Home in Tunkhannock, PA, please stop by and see her for us.
We want to thank you so much for your support to our ministry. We do appreciate your kindness. If we haven’t seen you yet, we look forward to that this year.
Please keep us in prayer as we travel from week to week.
Steve and Gayle
|
