Dear Ones in Christ,
A Christmas card we received stated it so well:
“JESUS is – The Lamb of God, to die for our sins.
The Prince of Peace, to change out hearts.
The Good Shepherd, to guide our lives.”
Our prayer is that each one reading this might know Jesus Christ in this way.
We sent our last semi-annual newsletter in August. Events since then were:
*Sept. 4 – Celebrating the birth of precious little Aletheia Joy, born to the family of Paul & Naomi
Sondergaard, our Youth Pastor & wife.
*Great visits in Sept., Oct., & Nov., from several friends and family members from Indiana.
*In Oct., we attended the annual IBIMI board meeting in Yuma and also the wedding of Lydia Veldhuis,
daughter of fellow-missionaries Mike & Dawn Veldhuis.
*Nov. 14 was a special day of remembrance. It was twenty years ago on Nov. 2 we were privileged to have a
part in the Lord’s beginning Yavapai- Apache Baptist Church (now Living Waters Baptist Church.) What a
blessing to review pictures of the Lord’s working during those years up to the present. We enjoyed wonderful
time of food and fellowship after the service with over 40 in attendance.
*Dec. has been a busy month with the ladies Christmas party at our home. It was a fun-filled evening with
nine ladies attending.
*The children’s Christmas play was held on Dec. 18th. It was based on the story of the candy cane and how it
represents Christ. Naomi did a wonderful job putting together the play and the children did their parts well.
We were thrilled to have several of the children’s family members attend. A blessing was seeing, after the
message, that God had worked in the hearts of parents.
OUR FAMILY;
*Kirt, Elida, Joseph (7) and Micah (6) still live in Glendale, AZ. Kirt is doing well after his triple bypass
surgery last January. So thankful for God’s healing in his behalf. Kirt continues his work as composite
artist for the Phoenix Police Dept. Thinking ahead to retirement years, they have developed their own coffee
business, ROYAL SOLITUDE COFFEE, a product of Elida’s family plantation in El Salvador. Elida is busy
with that, but mainly taking good care of her family. Both boys were involved in flag football this fall.
Joseph is taking guitar lessons, and Micah would also like to begin lessons. They are such fun and are
growing so fast!
*JD, Jenny, Jake (20), Zac (18), Hunter (15), and MaKayla (10) still reside in Conway, Arkansas. Having
just completed their third year of ministry at Grace Baptist Church, they are very busy, but enjoy the work
there. Jake & Zac are both attending Central Baptist College. Jake is a Junior and Zac is a Freshman.
The year seems to be going well for them. Jenny continues to homeschool Hunter, & MaKayla. Hunter’s
favorite pastime is playing basketball on a homeschool team. MaKayla loves drawing and crafts. Our
grandchildren are a tremendous blessing from the Lord!
We are so looking forward to Christmas with our family Dec. 28-31. We haven’t seen Jenny’s family since June, so needless to say, we are counting the days!
As we end this 2016 and launch into a new year, our desire is that in all we do God would receive glory, and that we would see fruit from God’s working in us and through us. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.
Love in Him,
Gary & Beverly Messick