To download the prayer letter in a printable PDF format with picture and graphics, please click HERE

“This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes”

~ Psalm 118:23 ~

Thank you to all who prayed for us specifically through the Christmas season.  We had numerous opportunities to minister to our community, and the Lord gave great strength and blessed each of the endeavours.  

We started off the month of December by participating in the city Christmas parade.  This year, we used the theme of “God’s Gift to the World” for our float and we were able to pass out almost 3000 packets with tracts, candy, and church info to people along the parade route — almost twice as many as last year!  The next week, we were contacted by the tourism coordinator of Corner Brook and asked if our church was able to do some carolling at City Hall one evening!  We scrambled to get everything together for it, and the Lord blessed in many ways as we sang songs of our Saviour and were able to pass out more Gospel literature.  One of the most encouraging compliments came from the tourism coordinator when she met us that evening and said, “I’ve seen your work before [speaking about the church] and I knew that I didn’t have to worry about it being good.  You always do excellent work.”  We praise the Lord for the testimony that we are establishing in our community!

The following week our family went down to Stephenville to help the O’Briens and New Hope Baptist do carolling at a Christmas event on Main Street.  There, they were able to give out over 300 packets of information, and they had great conversations with several families about the Gospel and church services.  Please pray that the Lord would use their outreach to see growth in the ministry in Stephenville.

We held our first candlelight Christmas Eve service this year at Grace, and had a special blessing with that.  The day before, one of the Ukranian families that we have become the closest with contacted me and asked if any of the service could be in Russian so that they could understand.  We excitedly told them that we could do that!  So for our service, I projected the Russian lyrics to all of the Christmas carols that we sang, and the Russian Scriptures for all of the Bible readings that were done.  We sang one verse of each song in Russian and the rest in English, and I preached a Christmas message in both Russian and English.  It was a truly beautiful evening and all who attended heard the Gospel and enjoyed the service.

Family Updates

The O’Briens returned to Stephenville the first week of December, so we are no longer driving out for services at New Hope every week, but we are still getting together as family for birthdays and events.

Elliot celebrated his 14th birthday this past December and he is growing up into a fine young man.  He has joined the local Sea Cadets chapter (similar to ROTC) and is enjoying the training and activities that they provide.  He and I took part in a turkey shoot hosted by the Cadets to try to win a turkey dinner before Christmas.  We didn’t win a dinner, but we did tie for third place out of 19 teams.

Kara is enjoying learning to cook and bake.  She and Katie just recently went to a sourdough workshop to learn how to keep a sourdough starter and bake with it.  She enjoys soccer and will be participating in the winter indoor league this year.

Our family will be returning to the States for a short time in mid-April in order for me (Matt) to take part in commencement activities for my Master’s degree, and to visit family whom we haven’t seen in 4 years.  Due to time restraints, we are not planning to try to report to any supporting churches, but we will be trying to visit a few new churches to raise some much-needed support.  Our goal is to be in the States no longer than through the end of July due to many factors and needs in the ministry here.  Lord willing, we will be able to take a full furlough in the near future and report back to many of you at that time.

Thank you for upholding us in prayer and financial support.  We are truly grateful for your partnership in the Gospel and count it a privilege to be your representatives to the people of Newfoundland. 

To download the prayer letter in a printable PDF format with picture and graphics, please click HERE