Montana Week

We had an amazing week at Eastgate Wesleyan, Tree of Life Wesleyan, and Joliet Wesleyan churches. If you would like to see pictures and hear more about the story of God’s faithfulness, read the captions that go with the pictures below.

We truly believe that God planned every moment of our time at Eastgate, especially in putting us with the Chestermans. We had great conversations with Pat and Traci, we had fun with their children, and they truly took care of us, especially while Tiffany was sick. They were a blessing from the moment we stepped through their door.

Here you are seeing the Chesterman children; Ashley, Wyatt, Susie, Tate, and Ivy. They are great kids, and we had so much fun staying with them during the week. Actually, Ivy and Ashley made a decision to join our support team together. It is always amazing to see young people, the future of the church, getting excited about missions.

Another blessing of the week with the Chestermans was their dogs. Here you are seeing Gus, their Basset Hound, doing what he did best. Gus and their other dog Joe were a very calming influence to us, and we felt blessed by their quiet natures and the loyal “thump-thump” of their tails.

Tiffany, Ivy and Traci’s sister Terri shared a common interest in origami. They spent one night figuring out the complicated patterns of folds and creases. They created some beautiful objects and a great deal of laughter and smiles as they worked.

This is a picture of Eastgate Wesleyan where we spoke on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Pastor Dan Robertson and the congregation of this church opened their lives to us, and we feel that we were extremely blessed to have come to this church.

Here Tiffany shows Tate, the Chesterman’s youngest daughter, pictures of Cambodia. The children always ask the best questions about the culture, and Tate was no exception.

Here Ivy, Susie, Wyatt, and Tate pose next to our table. We spoke at their Wednesday evening F.R.O.G club meeting, and we learned that all of the kids there knew the origins of the group’s name, Fully Rely On God, which is a good lesson to all of us.

During our time of sharing with the FROG’s, we played the game of “Walk through Cambodia.” It is always great to see parents and children working together to remember all that they had seen in the pictures.

After we played the game of “Walk through Cambodia”, we were able to share with the children the salvation message. We explained it in terms of the Bridge Illustration, which this picture shows. You are seeing the world as God intended it, with God (on the right) and Man (the two on the left) together in a perfect relationship. It is always so good to present the truth of our salvation, for it is our one true purpose on the earth to do so.

At Eastgate, Tim was blessed with the greatest game of Cambodian Hacky-Sack that he has played since returning from Cambodia. Here, Luke and Katie pose with the toy that we played with for so long after the services. These siblings were a great blessing of encouragement and fun.

Here you are seeing the Armstrongs; Chuck, Toni, Stephanie and Anthony. We were able to spend some time getting to know this family, and we were very blessed in doing so. Chuck is the leader of the Destination Riders, the motorcycle ministry based at Eastgate Wesleyan. Chuck may look like a threatening biker, but his heart is for seeing God’s Kingdom built up through evangelism and sharing with the lost.

This is a picture of Tree of Life Wesleyan Church taken after the snowstorm. We shared at this church on the west side of Billings on Sunday Morning.

After the service, we were treated to a pot-luck down in the church’s basement. The congregation had assembled a great feast of some of the best food that we have had so far on this trip. What topped the occasion off was the fact that there were as many desserts as anything else. God blessed us through their hospitality and through the great food.

Here you are seeing Pastor Sam Smith’s wife Diane sign up to be on our prayer team at Joliet Wesleyan Church. So many individuals stepped forward to support us through prayer and financial support that we were blown away by their generosity. Their investment in God’s Kingdom and His ministry in Cambodia through us strengthened our vision for the ministry at the Bible School and our part in expanding the Kingdom of God.

This is a picture of us with Ruth and Burl Baty. This lovely couple gave us housing for the two nights before we shared with Joliet Wesleyan Church. We had a great time talking with them, sharing stories, shooting Burl’s bow and arrows in the basement, and just learning from the wisdom of these two patrons of the Wesleyan Church.

At Joliet. Montana, we were blessed to meet some of Tim’s relation. Marge and David Gallant live near Joliet, yet they originally lived in Findlay, which many of you may know is very close to where Tim grew up. It was such an encouragement to sit down with them and hear about the genealogy, their lives in Joliet, and to have them join our support team through prayer and financial support.

After the Bible Study, these two young men gave us a percussion concert. Their enthusiasm about the drums and their questions made us smile. Thanks for the concert boys!

Our time of sharing with the group in Joliet was such a great experience. We met so many great people, and we know that with their support, we are that much closer to leaving for Cambodia to do God’s work.