Dear friends, family and supporters,
Happy New Year 2022! We pray that this year would be full of grace, provision, and the mercy and goodness of God for you and your family.
Church building project
As some of you may know, this past fall we started on our church building project. We’ve had a nice piece of land for several years now, but hadn’t built on it yet due to uncertainty in terms of the development of the area. However, we were able to move ahead with this project and start developing the land.
Since the property was originally farmland, it was necessary to raise the level of the entire lot to protect it from flooding. We purchased many dump truck loads of fill to bring the level up to where it is now. Part of the wall around the perimeter has been built, offices and bathrooms are in the process of being built, and the foundation for the main auditorium (multipurpose room) has been laid.
The next steps will be to finish the wall and office areas, complete the physical appearance of the front of the building, and plant the grass and garden areas.
We hope to have outdoor meetings in the large walled garden (about 8,000 square feet) after the rainy season starts. For the moment, it is too dry to be able to plant grass and the entire lot is brown dirt and dust. But once the rain comes, the plan is to plant grass, probably from rolls of sod.
In the mean time, we continue to do online meetings, micro-church meetings, connect groups, and larger gatherings outside at our house. We’ve had a very positive experience with our gatherings here at our home over the last several months. Even though it is about a 1/2 hour drive for those who come, we’ve had a good turnout at every meeting. Our church family seems to really enjoy these simple outdoor gatherings and the times of fellowship, picnics and games after the services. And for those who can’t come for some reason, we offer the same service online simultaneously.
Online Bible School
In December we finished another successful semester of online classes with our group of Bible School students. We had around 170 students complete courses during the semester. I taught a group of students “Interpreting the Scriptures”, a course on Biblical hermeneutics. However, it was really our team of facilitators who invested time with the students and helped them to successfully complete their courses. We are very thankful for such a great team! At the end of the semester, Bill Brown ministered live to our students during the closing meeting. That was a real blessing and treat!
Now we are preparing for the Advanced School of Ministry conference, which will be held online using the Bible School platform, and then the next semester of courses will begin on February 15.
Our family
We are thankful for God’s provision and protection during the last couple of years. We credit Him with keeping us healthy and well. We’ve seen so many friends get sick and die of COVID, but so far, the Lord has protected us, and we believe He will continue to do so.
Our son David Jeremiah came to visit us for about three weeks during the Christmas season. We definitely enjoyed spending some time with him! Daniel and Elisa spent their Christmas in Washington state with Elisa’s family, but we got to say hello to them a few times using FaceTime. Anna is home with us, studying online, working with the online Bible School, helping with church and doing some youth ministry.
Sara has worked hard supervising the construction projects, purchasing materials, ministering to several women, and doing some of the one-on-one jobs of pastoring, such as calling people and showing them we care about them. She is very good at these tasks and it is such a blessing to have her support in these areas!
Prayer requests
Here are a few prayer requests for the next couple of months:
- Please pray for continued protection and health for us and our church family.
- We are thankful for several financial miracles that God has provided during the last several months. We praise God for these!
- Please pray for wisdom and provision to continue to build our church, both spiritually and physically.
- Please pray for the continued development of the online Bible School.
Thank you!
We thank God for each of you who pray for us and support us financially. You have a big part in what we do and we know God will richly reward you. Thank you so very much for believing in us and partnering together with us in ministry.
In His Love,
David and Sara Lont