Week 6: Visitors Sunday Morning and Evening

Family from Burundi on Thursday night with Blaise

 It started on Thursday night this week when some of our soul winners were out knocking doors. (This is always what starts things happening!) One of our teams had the ability to speak four different languages between the two of them. (What a valuable soul winning team!) This team met a new family who recently moved here from Burundi, Africa. They spoke Swahili. So happens that Blaise is from Congo and can speak Swahili. It was a great time for all of them! This family came to church on Sunday on one of our buses and Bro. Blaise stayed with them through Sunday school. It was a great blessing to have them come and visit!

The Family from Burundi on Sunday morning

Being dealt with at the Altar

The Looper's and the Botti's

Then Sunday evening Bro. Looper had a married couple come and visit our services. The husband he had met on Thursday night and led him to Christ. Then the wife got saved during the Sunday night service at the invitation time. It was very exciting to see a married couple come to Christ! They made a profession of faith and said they would bring their kids next Sunday morning and discuss baptism with us. Praise God for a solid weekend coming into our final week of this campaign.

Bro. Looper dealing with them at the altar Sunday night.

Week 5: New Life

Ku Rae Moo

I had the opportunity to meet Ku Rae Moo and her mother under better circumstances this week. Many know that last week while I was out visiting, I was called upon to assist inside an apartment building with the delivery of a baby. After the baby and placenta both successfully came out the paramedics arrived and I gladly turned over the duties to them. The mother does not speak much English, but one of my Karen men went with me and witnessed to her. We were happy to find out that she is already a believer. My wife and I brought a baby gift to her as well and had the opportunity to hold the baby and get some photos. We are hopeful to see them come to church soon...

Myself along with Pler and Ku Rae Moo

Mom and Baby One Week Later in same apartment

Yuu Yuu Lyn (red bag)

We were pleased to see Yuu Yuu return to church this past Sunday. She has been away in Ohio for some time and has just recently come back to Lincoln. She came for Sunday school and the morning service. Yuu Yuu speaks Burmese, Karen, and English very well.

Samatha gets saved and baptized!

We had a good week for our campaign with multiple visitors again. Several return visitors came too! We also got to see four people make a public profession of faith and one follow the Lord in believer's baptism! Praise God for the continued miracle of new life, not just physically, but spiritually!

Week 4: Pastor's Are Called Upon for Everything!

In the fourth week of our campaign something very interesting happened during my Saturday visiting time. I was just finishing witnessing to a man in the parking lot of an apartment complex when a Karen (Burmese refugee) lady came outside from the building and yelled over to me, "You, come here, inside now!" I turned and looked around behind me and said, "Are you talking to me?" The lady answered, "Yes you!" while pointing at me, "Help inside, now!" So my daughter and I ran into the building to see what was going on. Once in the hallway the lady started making motions with her hands around here stomach to indicated someone was pregnant. Then she said, "Bathroom" while pointing inside an apartment. I then realized what was probably going on and in I went....

Sure enough as I went inside there was several people gathered around the bathroom door. I looked in and saw a lady laying on the bathroom floor trying to have a baby. There was an elderly Karen lady trying to help her. I asked the crowd that was gathering if anyone had called 911. They said, "No English." I called 911 and got an ambulance to start coming to the apartment building. The operator asked me questions and instructed me while the baby was coming out. I wiped the babies mouth and made sure the throat was clear from the fluid. The operate told me the baby should be crying and instructed me to turn the baby over. After which the baby then started crying. The operator then asked me if the placenta had come out yet, I said, "No." Then a few moments later the mother pushed the placenta out. I told the operator, she said, "This was very good."

Now the operator asked me if the mother was doing okay. I said, she looks okay other than having just had a baby. The operator said, "You need to ask her if she is okay." I asked, but no response, because the mother doesn't understand English. Then it occurred to me how I could ask her about her condition in the Karen language. I said to the mother "O Soo Ah?" (Which means, How are you?) The mother answered back, "O Soo." (Which means good.) I told the operator, who then said to me, "good you can communicate in their language," I responded, "No, I only know a few greeting words in their language."

Now the operator wanted me to tie off the cord and cut it. I told her I did not have anything to do that with, so she suggested using my shoe lace. I told her I would wait for the paramedics, she told me that it had to be done pretty soon. thankfully about that time I heard the ambulance pulling up outside. I told the operator that the paramedics were here. They came in and relieved me from the rest of my duty. I was thankful for their timely arrival. AMEN!

This was an experience I have never had as a pastor and hopefully won't again. Although, I performed my duty, which caused me to think about the duty we have as Christians to help bring new converts into the world for the Saviour!

The Scene after the paramedics arrived!

 Sunday we had a good day with five first time visitors and several return visitors. During the invitation time we had 8 public professions of faith made and got to see one follow the Lord in believer's baptism. Praise God for a wonderful week and weekend!

Tha Mee Hser's mom comes to church!

Corey got saved and baptized!

Week Three; Missionary Ben Smith

We had a great 3rd week to the Christ is Our Mission Campaign as we had Missionary Ben Smith with us. Brother Smith is our Missionary to South Sudan. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to see his presentation on Sunday night and listen to his burden for the Sudanese people. He is getting ready to make a trip to South Sudan at the end of the month with his pastor from Heritage Baptist Church. May God bless them on their trip and as he raises the final amount of his support.

Missionary Ben Smith and Family

We had a good week in Sunday school with multiple visitors coming and seeing one get baptized after the morning service. We were able to give away several prize bags to adult visitors that are full of Licorice from all over the world. Then on Sunday night we were blessed to see another convert follow the Lord in believer's baptism. So we had a total of three public professions made and two follow the Lord in believer's baptism.

Yana getting baptized Sunday morning.

Clinton getting baptized Sunday night.

We had a couples activity last Friday night. We went to Cabela's and then to Cracker Barrel afterwards for dinner. Everyone who came had a great time. As you can see in the picture below this event created great unity in our couples. (Ha, Ha)

The Painter's enjoying each others company!

The Miller's enjoying shopping

The Looper's having some alone time

Christ is Our Mission

Iraqi lady praying and trusting Christ through translator.

We had the second week of our Sunday school campaign called "Christ is Our Mission." God was really good to us. We saw 28 people trust Christ as their Saviour this week! Perhaps one of the more interesting situations is an Iraqi lady who got saved at the invitation time of the morning service. She has lived in America a few years and actually knew a lot of English. I was able to present the Gospel to her in English. We did run into a little snag toward the end of the presentation and I was able to call upon one of our church members from Sudan named Amiot. Amiot speaks Arabic fluently as well as several other languages and she was able to assist me in leading this lady. Praise God for a diverse church!

I am thankful that we can have someone from almost any part of the world walk into our church and be able to be presented a clear presentation of the Gospel in their language. We have one member that can speak 12 different languages! Praise God!!!!

Plavia getting baptized!

We also had Plavia from South Sudan come as a visitor for my mother today. She trusted Christ as her Saviour and followed the Lord in believer's baptism this morning. It was exciting to see her willingness to follow the Lord in the first step of obedience after trusting Christ. Please pray for her spiritual growth as she continues to come to church. 

Shee Say and Htee Say

We had a good day on all of the buses. The Karen route had a solid attendance day. My wife had her picture taken with two of the new riders that are actually becoming quite faithful. Shee Say and Htee Say along with their older brother attend every week now. God is really blessing this ministry as my wife and I are striving to learn the Burmese language.

One thing for our church to remember as we strive to win many nationalities to Christ is what the Bible says in 1 Chronicles 28:7 "Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day." If we be constant as a church, God will establish His work in these nationality groups.

Soul Winning Missionary

Saint and Chow after the service

This past weekend we had Missionary Saint Jomhong with us from the Longview Baptist Temple. Bro. Saint is a Missionary to the Kingdom of Thailand. He did an excellent job while he spent the weekend with us. He went soul winning all day Saturday and preached and presented his work on Sunday evening. In fact there is an interesting story I will tell you about involving Saint...

Chow getting baptized!

Saint met a Vietnamese man named Chow while he was out soul winning on Saturday. He was unable to led the man to the Lord because the man told him he was a Buddhist. However, the man told Saint he would come to church on Sunday. Interestingly enough, Chow had been witnessed to by my son and Bro. Zawlatt about a month earlier. They too could not lead him to Christ because he said he was Buddhist. Then Sunday morning came and the regular bus route went by to pick up Chow, but he was not home. However, I was running my Karen route and saw a man walking down the street in  a different area from where Chow lives. (I did not know Chow, yet.) My wife was at a door getting some people and I yelled over to the man and asked him to come to church. He was hesitant, but then decided to come. Once at the church we discovered this was the man Saint had invited.

After Sunday school Saint decided to speak to Chow about his salvation. Saint presented the Gospel to Chow and he then made a decision to trust Christ as his personal Saviour! Praise God! We then conducted the morning service and at the invitation time Chow came forward and decided to follow the Lord in believer's baptism. Thank God for the work of many soul winners to get this Buddhist man saved. This would be our first Buddhist that has gotten baptized at our church. Praise God! 

Saint preaching on Sunday night

Saint soul winning on Saturday

This week was the first week of our campaign called "Christ is Our Mission." The theme has a missions emphasis being placed on it. Total we had 64 souls saved for the week with two following the Lord in believer's baptism. One of our men Bro. Looper has been taking Spanish classes and was able on Saturday to led his first soul to Christ completely in the Spanish language. Praise God for a great start to our campaign.

Bro. Looper witnessing to a Spanish man

Busy Week!

We kept the baptistery tank busy all week. Baptizing people on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. God had blessed our soul winning efforts by keeping a steady flow of converts lining up to get into the tank. After seeing 21 come to the Saviour on Thursday night, we had 17 more come to Christ on Saturday and Sunday. Then finished with a total of 38 saved for the week and 6 public professions of faith being made and 4 following the Lord in believer's baptism this week! Praise God for his goodness!

Mimi getting baptized on Saturday afternoon!

Zawlatt getting baptized on Wednesday night

Tina Marie; one of the baptisms from Sunday morning