Fall 2017 Update

The fall season has been such a full time of travel, teaching, and ministry that it was necessary to wait until now to catch a breath and to give an update.  This was the fullest season of travel that we have had, and that comes with many blessings as well as challenges.  In all of it, we rejoice in the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ and His infinite kindness to us as a family.  These have been some of the greatest days of shaping and growth in Him that we have ever known.  We knew before the season began that it would be a stretching time.  Even now, I look back on the months of September, October, and November, not sure quite how God sustained us, and He did.  I feel like the Apostle Paul must have felt at the end of his one of his long missionary journeys, as he would have given such thanks and praise to God as he reported to his home church all that had taken place.   This report is not anywhere near so dramatic, but I am thankful to be able share and give a little glimpse of what God did among us in these months.  

View outside my lodging in Darmouth, Nova Scotia, CANADA

​We were blessed to preach God’s Word in revival services in eight different churches from September through November, plus filling in one Sunday at a local church in the Nashville area near where we live, along with a 10-day trip to Africa, which I will share more about later.  Throughout these weeks, I also continued teaching the five live weekly online classes through The Potter’s School.  The revival services ranged across North America, from Fallon, Nevada all the way to Nova Scotia, Canada, with other meetings in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Maine.  Some of these were new churches where it was our first time to be there, while a few were annual or semi-annual appointments.  

One of the stretching aspects of travel at this time in our lives is the inability to be all together as a family.  Being all together is only able to occur on rare occasions because of work and home commitments, and we normally save up the time away together for the summer camp season.  It is quite rare for Trina to be with me during fall or spring seasons, and this was again the case, with us essentially being apart for the better part of ten weeks with a few days at home sprinkled in here and there.  It was a blessing, however to get to have Chaili and Carey with me at different times on the trips and, and we cherish these times together.  Chaili got to go to the revival at the Church of the Nazarene in Jackson, OH, while Carey got to be a part of the meetings at the Little Country Church in Waynesburg, OH and Brookside Church in Chillocothe, OH.  I will share more later about our Africa trip.  Little Country Church and Brookside were new locations for us, where we met new lifelong friends in Cameron Ury and his family, and then treasured our time with our dear brother Ryan Bash.  I was reunited with old friends also at the Church of the Nazarene in Oak Hill, WV, with Randy and Mary Jane James, and in Sparta, MI with my dear brother and fellow Chicago sports fan, Tim Smith.  The trip to Maine and Nova Scotia takes place each spring and fall as we visit those congregations with our very dear friends and family, and the same is the case with the Church of the Nazarene in Fallon, NV.  There --- I think I named all of them!

Cameron Ury and family at Little Country Church, Waynesburg, OH

Ryan Bash and family at Brookside Church, Chillicothe, OH

Church of the Nazarene, Oak Hill, WV

Gathering in for evening service in Fallon, NV

​Throughout these services, I preached a new series from 1 Corinthians 12 which addresses the gifts of the Spirit and the body of Christ concept.  We are working this winter on the writing of this material, and hope for the book to be available by the end of winter.  I was quite amazed at how many people commented on how timely these messages were.  I am continually amazed at how God does this --- yet another affirmation of the preaching of the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit through that.  It was apparent that God was speaking in each and every location as we saw the evidence of that and people responding.  I might highlight two places that seemed particularly impacted and where His work was most evident to our human eyes.  I have been going to Fallon for many years, and have been there twice per year the past few.  I wish for every person I know to experience this place sometime, for I see it as one of those truly “front line” points in the kingdom of God.  I never cease to be encouraged, blessed, and amazed with what God is doing there.  This is a church that not only reaches out to the community with the amazing food ministry (see earlier updates from years past for more details on this), but they are truly a church built on the Word of God and that presents Jesus.  It is a group of people truly seeking after Him, and the new people continually being brought into the church are drawn to Him.  

We all know that attendance is not always the measure of a healthy church.  But I have been staggered the last two visits, and especially this one in October, with the number of people coming not only on Sunday AM, but the number of those who come out to the evening services.  There was a growing sense of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in these services, and people were just responding.  These meetings had the sense of true revival, of that “heaven on earth” kind of sense.  Carey and I experienced much the same thing at Brookside Church in November.  We sometimes do not know what to expect when we go into a new church.  But we know Pastor Ryan so well, and we know his heart for the Lord Jesus.  It is a privilege to just come and be a part of what God is already doing.  Furthermore, we keenly sensed the Holy Spirit through the worship as it was led by our friend, Mike Griffin.  This was another one of those weeks where the sense of Jesus’ presence and His touch on the service grew throughout the week.  We have not often experienced the kind of presence that we felt at Brookside.  It was evident that everyone sensed Him, and we saw it in the responses.  It was the kind of week of revival services that you pray for --- the kind of time that you feel can be a help for the church going forward.  ​

As we enter the winter months, our travel schedule is slower until late January and into February, but the Lord is placing us in His special work in these weeks.  The online classes continue, as well as preparation for the spring semester.  As I mentioned earlier, we are currently working on writing the new book on 1 Corinthians 12 and hope to have that completed by the end of this winter.  We are also in prayer about a potential new writing project later this year which would be something innovative that we have never tried before.  We appreciate your prayer for these, as well as for our family in these precious days.  

Chaili graduated nursing school in May and has begun her career working at one of the Nashville hospitals, and is loving her work.  Carey is nearly halfway through his junior year of high school and continuing to sense a refining of God's direction beyond high school into the military.  We only have these eighteen months left with him before he possibly leaves home to head into that.  Trina continues to work full time while also caring for our family and more things than I could name, and I could not do any of what we do without her.

Carey working on a well in remote Eastern Uganda

Together at the head of the Nile River in Jinja, Uganda, East Africa

​Finally, I will offer a brief word about our ten days to Africa, most of which were in Uganda.  It was a privilege for Carey and me to travel to Africa with my friend and brother, Mark Strickland.  I was able to preach a few times, but our main focus was twofold.  First, we were there to assist Mark in the surveying of water wells in eastern Uganda and western Kenya for work and repairs that needed to be done.  Mark and the people he works with have discovered that it is far more economical to repair existing wells (40% of them are broken) than it is to install a new well to provide this life-giving substance for people in some of the most rural villages in East Africa.  We traveled those incredible dirt roads and fell in love with the people in these remotest of areas.  The travel and living conditions in Africa are hard for North Americans (I fought motion sickness much of the time), but the spirit of the people was sweet and welcoming toward us.  We were touched by the warmth of the Spirit of Christ in them.  The second main purpose of our visit was to give Carey the opportunity to serve in an international setting.  And serve he did, as he assisted Mark in the surveying and even some of the hands-on work of repairing a well.  It was a life-changing time to experience all of these things together, and to share them with our brother, Mark.  When I first met and traveled with Mark 30 years ago, I could never have pictured traveling with him again 30 years later . . . but this time with my 16-year-old son.  What a treasure, and a reminder that His plans are bigger than any of us can see or imagine.  I take heart in that today, and am beyond thankful for His sustenance and the life He has granted us.  Thank you for your faithful prayer for us.  He is shaping us and doing more than we can ask or imagine.  It is a privilege to continue into 2018,

​Running together in Christ,
 
John