This past month my wife and I had the privilege of visiting Valley of Fire State Park outside of Las Vegas, Nevada--where we had been for a Missions Conference with Southern Hills Baptist Church. While traveling through the desert park, we came across a historical marker which marked the location of the death of Sgt. John J. Clark in June of 1915. He died of dehydration after he ran out of water in that fierce desert land. As my wife and I continued to travel on, just a few miles further we came upon a place where water was literally bubbling out of the rocks into a fresh water pond and then flowing down hill from there. All around that stream in the desert was life; with lush green grass, palm trees, and even a myriad of fish. If only Sgt. Clark had made it a few miles further he would have had all the water he needed to live.
I was reminded of this sight when my Pastor, Tim Leaman, preached out of Isaiah 55:6-13 to open our Missions Conference. The conference theme was "Living Water for a Thirsty World". In those verses, the Lord compares the life giving power of water on thirsty ground to the life giving power of the Word of God to thirsty souls. Peter Steveson in his commentary on that passage says,
"Isaiah now illustrates the certainty of God's promise to receive those who come to Him. Moisture, "rain" and "snow," comes from the sky to water the earth and bring forth fruit. From this we gain seed for future crops and food to sustain life, v.10. In the same way, God's Word will bring forth fruit. The fruit of God's Word is redemption, drawing men away from their sin to Him."
This is tremendously encouraging to me because currently many of the Datooga are in an even worse condition than Sgt. John J. Clark, but the Word of God has not lost its life giving power. In fact, verse 11 tells us that God's Word will not return unto Him void, but will accomplish that which He pleases, and we already know that it is God's decreed will to save a people to the praise of His Son from every kindred, tongue, people, and nation! Oh to see the Word of God pour out like rain upon the Datooga people!
Thank you for all of your prayers on our behalf. Here are some prayer requests and praises in and for our ministry.
Prayer
1. Pray that God's Holy Spirit would be active convicting the Datooga of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
2. Pray for the Myers family as they continue to travel on furlough and make preparations to return to TZ early next year. Pray for safety, wisdom, health, grace, and a break-through in bringing the Gospel to the Datooga.
3. Pray for a great and effectual door for all who are faithful with the Word of God as they minister among the Datooga.
4. Pray for us to remain safe and healthy in our travels and to be able to be in TZ by the end of 2010.
5. Pray for the salvation of a local man named Mike Haley.
Praise
1. We decided not to get a motor home, but began to pray for a larger vehicle and God answered some very specific prayer requests and provided us with a 12 passenger Ford van with low miles for a great price!
2. We are currently around 40% and praying to be at 50% by the end of this year.
3. We have had a great fall being a part of several Missions Conferences at great churches!
