DeFord June/July 2023

DeFord June/July 2023

Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy…Phil. 1:4

Dear Prayer Partners, family, and friends, June/July 2023

Thank you for your continued support of this ministry among the Native American population. As schools begin a new year, we reflect on a full summer of ministry. We were blessed to host two VBS weeks this year. The first week we had a high attendance of 30 while the second week we saw a high attendance of 60!

In addition to VBS we had several young people attend camp this summer. Some of our teens attended multiple weeks. Two teens received Christ as Saviour. Numerous other spiritual decisions were also made. We are grateful for all the ministry helpers and volunteers who make weeks like this possible. VBS and camp are tools the Lord uses year after year to assist in building His church among the Hualapai!

Back in June, we celebrated dads and our ambassadors to China. On Father’s Day we had special prayer and a small gift for the seven dads in church that morning as well as a special message from God’s Word. The following Sunday, our precious family ministering in China gave us an update of the progress made over the last few years. We are better equipped to pray and give toward the next phase of their vision as they return to Asia.

You may have heard about the heat in the west during the month of July. Thankfully, we are living and ministering at a higher elevation than much of the rest of the state. But it was still a hot, dry month. Amid the heat, we had much to celebrate. In addition to our nation’s birthday, we had two special fellowship Wednesdays and two “Super Sunday” fellowships including July 23 when 8 were baptized after the morning service. Please pray for these four young men and four young ladies as they continue walking and growing with the Lord.

The last Sunday of July was a Fifth Sunday. Each Fifth Sunday, our youth group covers Sunday School and the Sunday morning worship service. Our youth leader preaches the message and teens provide the music, lead the singing, lead in prayer, and collect the offering, as well as other aspects of the morning services. We are so pleased with the growth of these young people and our youth leader.

Finally, we were especially encouraged one Thursday afternoon while our family was cleaning the church. A young man stopped in to speak with Steve. He was considering doing harm to himself and wanted help. Two hours later, he received Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour and left in a much better state of mind. He was one of the young men that followed the Lord in believers’ baptism just over one week later. Keep “C” in prayer as he begins a discipleship course with Steve.

For God’s Glory,
The Steve De Ford Family

Jones August 2023

Dear Family and Friends,

     The last 3 months have been very productive as we’ve been focusing on doorknocking, discipling, teaching, and building relationships with the people. We knew going into our field that planting a Native church was going to be challenging at times. However, we have learned to simply stay consistent in all that we do. 

During the month of May, we had a missionary come through, Bro. Kum Li to Asia. He spoke at the church. He and I also went doorknocking. While out, we visited a man named Melvin who had come on Easter Sunday. We were able to witness to him. He did not get saved, but we could tell that God was at work. 

     Jacob was able to fly to North Carolina towards the end of the month to report to one of our supporting churches in Statesville, NC. It was a blessing to see some new and familiar faces! He was also able to present the work to two new churches that we’d never been to before. 

     In June, we had the privilege to assist Pastor and Mrs. Veldhuis at Cocopah Bethel Baptist with their Neighborhood Bible Time. There were 25 kids that attended. There was 1 salvation and 4 reassurances.

     On July 2nd, we had “I Love My Country Sunday ” We had a wonderful time. It started with preaching about our freedom in Christ and then a fellowship time of eating and shooting off fireworks. On July 10th-11th, my family and I attended Pacific Baptist Youth Conference in Long Beach, CA. Although we were unable to bring our Teens, we thoroughly enjoyed the preaching and amazing singing! We are praying about bringing some of our kids next year. 

     From the 19th-22nd, we had our VBS. The theme was Twists and Turns. We had a Missions team from North Carolina that came out and ran VBS. They also helped us remodel our Sunday School area and Nursery! They purchased new carpet to replace the existing 80s carpet, repainted walls, and placed baseboards & door frames around the room! We are so incredibly grateful!

     We had 23 kids and Teens attend VBS and had one salvation. Whoever got the most points in the week got to choose what to do to Jacob. The winner chose to make him into a human hotdog and everyone had a great time joining in! We knocked almost 500 doors in 110°- 118° weather. It was great to see several new visitors during VBS. Please continue to pray for us as we labor for our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. 

Thank you again for your prayers and support!

               Sincerely,

              The Jones Family 

Missionaries to the Quechan Native. Americans 

           Colossians 1:18

Prayer Requests:

The Golding Family- Seneca struggles with addiction, but her mom, Bernita and the grandkids attend our church faithfully. 

Pray for the Oceguega family of 5 Teens whose dad struggles with alcoholism.

Pray for the Jose Family- that Lydia will be able to witness to the Grandmother, whose health isn’t good. 

Pray for the Takala & Koteen families to return to church.

 

Spiritual Growth:

Dallas, Bernita, & Emma

Salvations:

Vanite, Leia, Ish, Zane, Manuel, Kayla, Rachel, Nina, Renesmee, Domininc, Robert, & Donovan.

Personal:

Lydia: wisdom/ treatment with worsening lung function as tests showed mild PAH while on meds and lowered pfts.

Samuel: that he will continue to improve in Speech and Occupational Therapy. That God gives wisdom and strength and directs his future.

Grammer July 2023

July 2023

Dear Friends in Christ,

            II Cor. 4:8b “…we are perplexed, but not in despair;”  Paul wrote this but we can empathize with him.

            In the middle of June, Sam was scheduled to take the ferry from Bellingham, WA to Ketchikan, AK.  That was our plan-but God’s plan was not the same as ours!  Early in the morning, Sam was packed and ready to go.  We said “Good-by” and he left the house.  Only minutes later, he came back inside and reported that we had a serious oil leak.  We tried to get it fixed quickly so he could still make the ferry.  However, no-one could fit us in for at least a week.  The “Alaska Marine Highway” was contacted to see if we could change the reservation for a later spot.  We were then informed that our scheduled sailing had been cancelled and the ship was in for repairs!  If our plan had been followed, Sam would have driven 1400 miles and then have to return home!  We have a God who knows the future and His plan is always the best.  How thankful we are that He is the One in control!! 

            At present, (3 weeks later) Sam has sailed on the ferry (smooth sailing) and ready to board the ferry to the Prince of Wales Island later today.  We have been truly blessed as our volunteer work crews have had safety as they have traveled and while doing the construction work over the past few years.  Please thank God with us for this.

            Thank you for praying with us during the Navajo family camp that we had a part in during June.  

            Another answer to prayer-Janet had a safe trip to Wasilla AK to visit Sam Jr.’s family.  She was praying that God would allow her to talk to someone along the way about the Lord.  (She was thinking- giving the Gospel message.)  Again, God’s plan was different and she found herself surrounded by men.  She doesn’t enter into deep conversation with strange men unless there is another woman present, so things were not quite what she expected.  However, she found herself in Chicago for 9 hrs with a delayed flight and God opened a door to encourage a young Believer dealing with troublesome events.  Though different than she had planned, God did open the door to “talk about the Lord” where it was needed!  Another answer to prayer and once again-thankful for a God who is in control and knows all things!

            Janet also teaches piano lessons in hopes of meeting the need of church pianists.  It was a blessing to listen to one of her students play an offertory in church this week.  Most of her students are from Christian homes, but that is no guarantee that they know Christ personally, so pray with her to be able to give the Gospel message. (Even when they don’t come from a Christian home-which is even trickier as you don’t want to encourage them to oppose their parents-yet they still need to hear the message.)

            Please continue to pray with us for the needed electricity and for the man that the Lord wants to maintain the station and live in Thorne Bay.  We are eager to see this station on the air and trying to be patient for the Lord’s timing.

            We are very aware of your part in our ministry-both by prayer and financial gifts.  Thank you to each of you!  You are definitely fellow-laborers.

                        II Cor. 2:11 “Ye also helping together by prayer for us.”

In Christ,

Sam & Janet Grammer

Roembke June & July 2023

Dear Prayer Partners,

We began this month waiting to close on our new home and we ended the month with a move! On June 26th, we were able to move into our new home in Twin Valley, MN! We are extremely grateful for the many friends from Walworth Baptist Church that brought their flat-beds and even a horse trailer to help us move. In between time, we had some very encouraging weeks of ministry. 

For four weeks in June, I was able to take part in leading the Thursday services at Hope Baptist Church. This was a great opportunity to build some relationships with the people through preaching and conversation. We saw a high of sixteen in attendance. A man named John provides transportation to the services for his mother who attends faithfully. He would come for the fellowship afterward but never came to hear the preaching. We prayed that God would work on his heart to come for the entire service.  Pastor Caleb Mitchell, who is continuing the work there while we travel, has reported that John and his sister have started going to the entire service for two weeks now! Praise the Lord!  Pastor Mitchell has also been preparing the people for the transition to our leadership on September 28th and they are encouraged. Pray for the salvation of these faithful attenders and for others that are reached through this ministry.  Many are hungry for the Word being preached, but are deceived by Catholicism and other denominational teachings. Pray they will have a true understanding of their need for Jesus to save them!

We were also able to help with VBS at Walworth Baptist Church.  I had the privilege to run a van route to the reservation and we were able to pick up as many as five through the week. We are looking forward to the plans we have for VBS next summer at Hope Baptist Church!

Now I am writing this letter from Gallup, New Mexico, just outside the Navajo Reservation. Just two days after moving into our home in Minnesota we went on the road to update our supporting churches and present the work in a few new churches. The majority of our meetings are independent Baptist, Native American churches!

We have already had a meeting in the capital of the Cherokee nation, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, as well as two meetings on the Navajo reservation.   We will be with eight more Navajo churches through the end of July. The missionaries and native men that lead these churches are a great blessing to us. Since we surrendered to Native missions, they have been an incredible encouragement to me. I have learned much from them and love the opportunity to learn more.

This past week we were able to help Bro. Dheidrick Hobbs, a Navajo man, for one night with a Bible club in Chinle, Arizona.  Nine people got saved that night! He plans on planting a church in this town, but he is still finishing deputation. Please contact me if you are interested in getting his contact information. I highly recommend this Navajo man to present his ministry in your church.

We also plan to go soul-winning with Ganado Baptist Church in Ganado, Arizona, for their Tuesday night outreach for the rest of the month. On July 19-21, we will be helping Bro. Justin Barnett on the reservation in Indian Wells, Arizona, with VBS. We are looking forward to what the Lord will do that week. Pray for Bro. Justin as he leads this VBS. We are eager to apply what we are learning here to our ministry in Minnesota and we praise the Lord for men who have taken time to invest in our hearts to encourage us in what God can do where we are.

Please pray for the people of White Earth that they would get saved, baptized, and added to the church. Pray that discipleship will be effective among these Native people.

Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer and financial support! May fruit abound to your account.

For the cause of Christ,

Marty, Logan Michelle, Aliza, Annie, Ezekiel, Isaiah and Max Roembke

Messick June 2023

Dear Ones in Him,

It has been some time since we last wrote and we have much to share.  

MARCH 
First, you may remember that we had requested prayer for our daughter-in-law, Elda, who underwent cancer surgery.  We are so very thankful to report that she is doing well!  A wonderful answer to prayer!

On March 8th, the Lord blessed us with our first great-grand baby!  Emma Darling was born to Jake and Jessica Tyson, and her name certainly fits – she is darling and very precious.  JD and Jenny are now grandparents and loving it!

After months of waiting, the modular was finally torn down.  The demolition company did a great job, all went very smoothly and was removed in one day, with clean-up the next day.  We all had a huge surprise, including the work crew.  As they were pulling out the girders underneath, out came running for their lives, five javelina!  Evidently, this had been their family home for sometime!

 We had mentioned in our last letter that work had been done to enclose the pavilion.  There is still finish work that needs to be done, but it will be a tremendous help having children’s church and fellowships there.

The end of the month, it was so good to have a visit from Bud & Connie Wells of Cody, WY.  They both have had major health issues, so it was a blessing to see their health improved.

APRIL
The first of April, we enjoyed having Peggy Weishaar, from Indianapolis spend a week with us.

Bev has mixed emotions about having turned 80 in January.  Since then, she has broken two teeth and had to have crowns put in, a day after learning she would need knee replacement surgery, her knee gave out and she fell, injuring her hand on the cabinet.  The doctor recommended a cane for safety.  Her knee surgery was scheduled May 31st, but had to be postponed until she can see a cardiologist.  Gary is wondering what he might expect when he turns 80 in October?!  He is waiting to learn he may need a pacemaker.  Seriously, overall we are doing well.

MAY
In May we were privileged to fly to Conway, AR. to celebrate two very special occasions.  The dedication of Emma to the Lord, and the  wedding of Hunter & Becca Tyson.  Hunter is JD and Jenny’s third son.  We so enjoyed being with their family again.

It was great having our niece and nephew, Rick & Sharilyn DeCrastos from Noblesville, IN. here with us for a week.

The last of February, Paul & Naomi had shared with us that Paul felt the Lord had worked in his heart and felt was he ready to take over as pastor of Living Waters Baptist Church.  We were thrilled with the news, for we knew many had prayed for this, and we felt this was God’s plan.  God will bring the right people at the right time, and He did this in bringing Paul and Naomi and their dear family.  They have a heart for the Native American people.  It has been a joy to have ministered alongside them to accomplish God’s plan.  We feel it best not to attend LWBC, to allow Paul time to establish his ministry as shepherd of the flock.

So, the Transition Service was held on May 28th, with Brother Steve Deford, our mission director, giving the challenge.  It was a very special weekend, a time of reflecting back on God’s faithfulness  and giving thanks for the privilege of serving Him these last almost forty years.
We aren’t calling this Retirement, as we want to fill in for missionaries on the reservations that might need to be away from their churches for a short time.  Please pray with us that God would show us what He would have us do in service for Him.  Someone said that this isn’t “retirement,” but re-assignment!”  We just want to be used of the Lord any way He leads.

Several traveled to celebrate with us.  The “icing on the cake” was that Kirt, and Elida and the boys came up from Glendale, and brought JD and Jenny with them!  We had no idea they were flying in from Arkansas.  Though JD had to return home, we were so very glad that Jenny was able to arrange to stay with us for two weeks.

JUNE
Besides having Jenny with us in June, it was a blessing to have a visit from our niece and nephew, Kevin & Arlene Roberts, from Kendallville, IN. It means so much to us anytime family and friends make the long trip out this way to spend time with us.

PRAISES:
*Elida’s good health
*Our new great-granddaughter, Emma
*For the privilege of working with Native Americans for almost forty years

PRAYER REQUESTS:
*Wisdom and guidance for Paul & Naomi and financial support
*God’s direction for us 
*Completion of the pavilion
*Funds and workers for the modular replacement
*Funds and workers to finish the pavilion

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your love, prayers and faithful support through the years.

Love in Christ,

Gary & Bev Messick

DeFord May 2023

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Dear Prayer Partners and Ministry Supporters,

Thank you for your continued interest in getting the gospel to America’s native population. Your help is enabling us to expand the ministry of Hualapai Baptist Church and the Independent Baptist Indian Mission further than ever before. While many aspects of the ministry have already returned to normal since COVID, we were glad to see some other ministries start up again. Over the course of the last two months, the Lord has also given us some “firsts.”

We had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday back in April with a good number of guests. One of the grandmas that came every now and again was present and has been bringing several of her grandchildren much more regularly on Sunday mornings ever since. The children’s church workers have definitely noticed the increase in attendance.

The last Sunday of April was our first “Fifth Sunday” in quite some time. On Fifth Sunday, our youth group takes on much of the responsibilities of the Sunday School and Morning Worship service. The teens teach the younger aged classes, open in prayer, give announcements, take up the offering, and provide special music. Then our youth leader preaches the morning message. They all did a great job. And we are encouraged to see the next generation being trained to continue on the ministry!

A native evangelist friend, Gerry Locklear, came by so I could accompany him to the neighboring Supai Reservation. We helicoptered in and made some good contacts with the tribal officials. We are praying all the details come together for an outreach through the church in the little village down in the Grand Canyon among the Supai people.

The Carrolls, members of a supporting church in the Atlanta area, were out as April rolled over into May. Ron Carroll is a retired pilot. His wife Peggy has been teaching and developing curriculum for many years. They are both seeking how the Lord may use their special skills in ministry. Brother Ron flew their single engine plane all the from Georgia so we could visit some of the other missionaries in IBIMI. We flew to distant parts of the state to see the works and hopefully be an encouragement to the missionaries. We also flew to a remote reservation north of the Canyon on the Arizona/Utah line. There is no church currently on the Kiabab Reservation. The Carrolls continue to pray for God’s direction including the possible purchase of a two engine plane in order to assist in evangelizing the American Indians. Please, pray with us for this possible expansion into aviation and curriculum development. I personally saw the incredible benefit to IBIMI that it would be to much more effectively reach our existing missionaries as well as reach out to remote areas of the Western U.S.

The coming of May and the graduation season caused us to turn our attention to summer ministry, in particular, VBS and camp! Plans for both are nearly complete. We also hosted a teen afterglow for the first time in recent years. The current youth group really enjoy this “new” activity!

And finally, we celebrated police appreciation week with our local department again this year. Our homeschool co-op was asked to sing the National Anthem for a community flag raising, and we put together some gift bags for all the officers. We are grateful for the protection our police provide our community.

Thank you again for your part in the ministry among our Native American population! For God’s Glory, the Steve De Ford family

Roembke May 2023

Dear Prayer Partners,

The past six weeks have been extraordinarily busy for our family. As we stated in our last letter, we sold our home in Wisconsin two days after it went on the market. We packed up a U-Haul on April 20th and moved to Ulen, Minnesota, where we are temporarily residing in the prophet’s chamber of Walworth Baptist Church while our belongings remain in storage. Walworth has been incredibly gracious and we are overwhelmed with gratitude for our dear friends allowing us to reside in the church building while we wait to close on our new home.  A couple of weeks ago we were able to put an offer on a home and the sellers accepted our offer for $5,000 less than what they were asking! Praise the Lord for His provision! Our next family need is a four-wheel drive vehicle for the winter here in northwest Minnesota. We are looking forward to seeing how God will continue taking care of us!


Less than a week after moving to Minnesota I was able to preach from Mark 5 and Luke 8 on how the maniac of Gadara found Hope in Jesus to the native people that attend Hope Baptist Church. Praise the Lord for the six people that were there. After Hope’s service we drove through the night to Indiana.  This trip was originally scheduled as a field trip to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter to conclude Aliza’s first year of school; however, the recent changes in our life turned it into more ministry opportunities. While on our trip I was able to present our ministry to one new church in Indiana and update a few of our supporting churches in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. As we were preparing to head back to northwest Minnesota our van broke down at a gas station in West Salem, Wisconsin. We were frantically contacting people we knew nearby that could help us but it seemed no one was available. Since it was a holiday weekend, even roadside service through our insurance said the best they could do was call 9-1-1.  As we were sitting in the gas station trying to care for the children, God began to remind me that I was seeking everything else first and that I needed to get my mind back on Him. My wife made one more phone call and her friend reminded us of a pastor we know whose church was literally right on the other side of the highway where we were broken down. I called him and sure enough he had a deacon in the church who was a mechanic. The deacon came over, confirmed it was a starter problem, was able to get the new starter before the auto parts store closed and within two hours, had the starter replaced! The pastor also told me the church was going to take care of the cost to fix our van. We cannot be more thankful for this incredible blessing and our amazing God! Now we are back safely in Minnesota!


This upcoming month we are focused on getting to know the Ojibwe people that attend Hope Baptist Church and looking for opportunities to give the gospel. We are looking forward to the Thursday services at Hope and getting a vision of what God has for us. Pastor Caleb Mitchell of Walworth Baptist Church who started the native work, is preparing the people for the transition of leadership on September 28th. Please be praying that the natives will be fully on board.


In July and August, we have meetings lined up in new churches and some supporting churches to present our ministry to the White Earth Reservation. Since the growth of our family and inflation, we are praying that God will give us five new supporting churches from this trip. We are also looking forward to our mission retreat with the other IBIMI families in Williams, Arizona. When we get back from this trip it will be full-time mission work from there on. Please pray with me for the vision that God has given me for Hope Baptist. Pray that I will be able to cast that vision clearly before the native people. Pray that the unsaved natives to get saved, baptized and added to the church. Pray for wisdom about some projects that will need to get done to better utilize the building for the ministry. We are excited for the work God is going to do on the White Earth Reservation!
Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer and financial support! May fruit abound to your account.

For the cause of Christ,

Marty, Logan Michelle, Aliza, Annie, Ezekiel, Isaiah & Max Roembke

Grammer May 2023

May & June 2023

Dear Friends in Christ,

            We had a lot of medical appointments this past month. (May)  Most were yearly checks but we added some cataract surgery for Sam with the additional check-ups that come with it.  After the first surgery on one eye, we both got a virus so the second eye surgery was put off for a week to give him recovery time.  What a difference in his sight! And what a blessing!  

            You may have noticed that this letter is for 2 months.   (Since we will be traveling the end of June, we are sending this letter to cover both months.)  June will be busy and here’s how you can pray for us:

            *June 11-17-we are to speak at a Navajo family camp on Christian Parenting.  Janet will have a couple of sessions with just the women while Sam teaches the men.

            *The following week, Sam is to begin driving to Bellingham, Washington to take the ferry to Ketchikan and then another ferry to Prince of Wales Island where Thorne Bay is located.    Rather than fly this summer, he will be driving with supplies for the radio station project. 

            *We are expecting a total of 25 workers spread out over 3 weeks. Pray for their safety as they travel and as they work on the building.

            *Please continue to pray with us for the needed electricity and for the man that the Lord wants to maintain the station and live in Thorne Bay.  We are eager to see this station on the air and trying to be patient for the Lord’s timing.

            *June 25-July 1, Janet will be visiting Sam and Amber and the boys in Wasilla, AK.  Pray for her safety as she travels alone and that her time with the family will be encouraging to all.

            Thank you for your prayers as Sam was teaching classes for the Northern Arizona School of the Bible.  The spring semester classes were completed this past week.  It is a privilege to be able to be a part of this ministry.  

            We are still recording pod-casts.  (Eric, who is doing the technical side of the recording, is one of the teen boys going to AK this summer to help.) Pray with us that these recordings will be a help to other Believers

            Thank you to each of you that pray for us and help us financially so that we can minister among the various Indian tribes-in the southwest, as well as in Alaska.  We recognize you as fellow-laborers in His service.

                        II Cor. 2:11 “Ye also helping together by prayer for us.”

In Christ,

Sam & Janet Grammer

Jones May 2023

Dear Family and Friends,

We have had a great couple of months as we have been laboring on the field.

During the month of February, we had Round Up Sunday with Evangelist Greg Waggoner. He and his wife were a huge blessing to our church. We had some that were gone for a little while that had come back to church. It was exciting to see them come back. That next day, my family and I had a missions conference in Beeville, TX with Beeville Baptist Church. This is my (Jacob’s) parents’ church. It was a great conference with a great spirit towards missions. We enjoyed visiting my parents, my sister, and her family. Following that conference, I flew to Bosie, ID, rented a car, and drove down to Winnemucca, NV. It was a one day mission’s conference and I went there by myself as my wife and son were with my parents in Beeville, TX. I had the privilege to preach missions Sunday at Pastor Mondt’s church (Lighthouse Baptist Church) in Winnemucca. I was very encouraged by the pastor and his wife. The spirit of the church was wonderful! On my way back to Beeville, it was a little crazy because it was snowing a lot and it was right after the Super Bowl, so a lot more private planes were in the air than usual. Eventually, I got back to my family 2 days later than expected. While my family and I were away, Dr. Arthur Maricle filled the pulpit for me and afterwards was able to lead one of my teens to the Lord! We were so excited to hear the good news! On February 25th, we took 10 teenagers out door knocking and they had a blast! I was proud of them. 

The month of March was quite busy! On March 4th, we hosted a ladies fellowship and 3 other Native churches got to join us. Tohono O’odham Baptist Church in Casa Grande, AZ, Tohono O’odham Baptist Church on the T.O. reservation near Casa Grande, AZ and Cocopah Bethel Baptist Church. The speakers were Dawn Veldhuis (pastor’s wife from Cocopah Bethel Baptist Church) and Louann Shannon (pastor’s wife from Tohono O’odham Baptist Church on the reservation near Casa Grande, AZ). The theme was Growing In Grace, and Mrs. Shannon shared her testimony and Mrs. Veldhuis shared a small devotion. Although no salvation decisions were made, the teens and ladies in attendance listened intently and were encouraged by the speakers!

On March 6th- 8th, I took a teenager with me who feels called to preach to the North Valley National Pastors and Workers Conference in Santa Clara, CA. We had to leave a day early due to my wife’s hospitalization from a COPD flare. March 15th-18th, Samuel and I attended Victorville Baptist Church’s missions conference while Lydia stayed home to rest. It was exciting to see a thriving and growing church that loves missions! A few days later, they contacted me letting me know that they would be supporting us monthly and would be donating one of their church buses to us so that we can pick up more people on the reservation. Please PRAY that I will be able to complete my CDL training and get my CDL license soon! 

On March 26th, we brought back evening service at New Haven Baptist Church. We had suspended evening services for a few months due to being on the road on part time deputation. This allowed us to present at nearby churches while being able to still hold morning and Thursday night services. On March 28th, we celebrated Samuel’s 4th Birthday and were able to host a small party for him with some of our church attendees. 

During the month of April, we had quite a few families stop attending due to circumstances in their home lives. Our attendance has dropped, but we are thankful that the people in the area know that we are always here for them. At the beginning of the month, we had a few different scenarios take place. Two girls came to services who were invited by the Jr. Higher Lydia tutors. We had never met them before and knew nothing of their home life. They asked us if we could buy them some groceries, and we said we could after the service. After the service, we took them to the store and bought them groceries. We later found out that they had nothing in the house because their mom and her boyfriend are Meth users and had sold their food stamps. They had 6 younger children in their home. We also found out that the mom’s boyfriend doesn’t allow them out of the house at times and that the mother sometimes beats them. Sadly, this has already been reported to the authorities but nothing was done after the investigation. As soon as the authorities left, the mother beat the children so badly that they bruised. Please pray that God will allow us to minister to this family. 

We had three big Sundays during this month as well. We had Easter Sunday with three new visitors and had our Second Anniversary Sunday on April 23rd. We then had our first ever Missions Conference from April 28-April 30th. Missionary Ryan Nez from the Navajo Reservation preached and our people really enjoyed him and his family! We gave out Faith Promise Commitment Cards and besides ourselves we had one other person give towards Faith Promise Missions. Praise God for that! During our conference, the painting of the building was completed and we are so thankful!

Thank you again for your prayers and support! 

The Jones Family 

Missionaries to the Quechan Native Americans 
Colossians 1:18

Prayer Requests:

Salvations: Vanity, Leia, Ish, Zan, Manuel, Donavon, Damen, Katlin, Elie and Marven.

Spiritual Growth: Adam & Justin (called to preach) Dallas, Emma, Bernita, Seneca, Maleena, Melody, Angie, Lusion, Uriah and Airus. 

Health: 

Lydia- wisdom for Drs. with worsening lung function and that tests would show the cause 

Samuel: that he will continue to grow and develop

Bro. and Mrs. Veldhuis with general health

Needs: $3,000 for Jacob’s CDL Training, $1,100 for Teen Camp in June. 

Personal: Wisdom, strength, Samuel’s future and health.

Grammer April 2023

Dear Friends in Christ,

Ps. 37:5 “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”

This has been a month of preparation, planning and maintenance.  

Our plans for this summer include Sam driving to Seattle with appliances (washer, dryer, refrigerator…) and building supplies and catching ferries to Thorne Bay, AK.   A man from the Flagstaff area, will be traveling up with 4 teen boys (That  will be a big help with muscles in moving the items from the truck to the building.)  After they are back home, we have 2 volunteer crews from N. C. who will be arriving on 2 different weeks to make progress on the construction yet needed.  It is slow progress as we only have a short period each summer to work on this project but we ARE seeing progress!  

We have had 2 different young men that have inquired about working here to man the radio station, but both have decided that this is not where the Lord wants them to serve.  Please continue to PRAY with us for the right man to carry on this ministry.  

At present, our only electricity is generator power and that will limit radio time so we are still praying  for the power company to bring electric to the area.  Please PRAY with us.

We are so thankful for the way God has protected our workers from injury during the construction.  We are also thankful for the way God has provided the financial needs so that we have not had to go into debt to this point.  As we have seen the costs more than double, both in building supplies and transportation costs, our God has still proven Himself faithful.  Thank you to each of you that have given to this project.  PRAY with us to soon be able to broadcast and to reach out to the lost with the Gospel message.

Also, this year, while Sam is in Alaska, Janet is planning to visit Sam Jr.’s family in Anchorage.  (Since Thorne Bay and Sam’s family are both in Alaska, we are often asked if we visit them when in Thorne Bay.  However, Anchorage is almost 800 miles from Prince of Wales Island where Thorne Bay is located and isn’t feasible.)  Flight costs have more than tripled since last summer when this trip was planned but had to be cancelled.  We are thankful for flying miles with the Airlines so that this trip can still come about.  Once again, God has provided!

The Northern Arizona School of the Bible is almost finished with the spring semester.  It is a privilege to be able to be a part of this ministry.  Thank you for your prayers for these students and for Sam as he teaches.

We are still recording pod-casts and almost finished with I Thessalonians and ready to start II Thessalonians.  (Eric, who is doing the technical side of the recording, is one of the teen boys going to AK this summer to help.)

Also, this past month, Sam has had to have cataract surgery on his left eye with the right eye to be worked on this coming week.  He is very pleased with the success and we are praying that he will be fully recovered before he has to drive this summer.  Never realized how blurry his vision had become over time but thankful for the Lord providing once again and restoring his sight.

We have also been asked to teach Christian parenting sessions during a family Navajo camp here in Flagstaff in mid-June.  Please PRAY with us as we prepare for this opportunity.

We are very aware of your part in our ministry.  The Lord has used you to provide for us and we are truly thankful for you.  Thank you for your prayers and your financial support!

                        II Cor. 2:11 “Ye also helping together by prayer for us.”

In Christ,

Sam & Janet Grammer

Roembk April 2023

Dear Prayer Partners,

Normally we send monthly letters to keep you all updated about our ministry; however, the last few months have been exceptionally busy and we apologize for the delay.  Nonetheless, we are eager share with you some important prayer requests as well as an exciting announcement about our ministry.

Family Update
On February 13th, our oldest daughter, Aliza, turned 5! She is almost finished with her first year of school and it is a thrill to see how much she has learned.
At the end of February, we had to make an unexpected trip to Indiana to be with our family through a somber trial. My younger brother lost his wife to a very aggressive cancer.  Although we rejoice that she is in Heaven with her Savior; we cannot help but mourn such an unexpected loss. She was just 26 years old and would have celebrated their second wedding anniversary at the end of March. Please especially keep my brother in prayer as he goes through this tough time.

Ministry Update
Since we were in Indiana, we took the opportunity to fellowship with Crossroads Baptist Church in Indianapolis.  We spent the first two years of our marriage serving there and it was a special blessing to be back.  In the morning service, I had the privilege to give the gospel to a man named Emilio and he trusted Christ!
In the evening service at Crossroads, Pastor Guy Solarek and the church family joined us in taking the next step of an exciting transition in our ministry.  After weeks of prayer, Crossroads Baptist Church welcomed us back into their family and has sent us out again to work with another native tribe.

Our Ministry Change
Our supporting churches and pastors should have received a packet by mail detailing our ministry transition, but I will attempt to briefly explain this change here. We encourage you to see the additional packet for more details. 
In September 2021, Walworth Baptist Church started Hope Baptist Church on the White Earth Reservation in northwest Minnesota. Pastor Caleb Mitchell at Walworth has been pastoring both churches.  Over the last year, God has been working in our hearts about this ministry.  Last September, Pastor Mitchell asked us to pray about taking over the ministry at Hope and God’s leading was becoming more evident.  As we continued to pray, God gave us Romans 15:13, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”  This confirmed to us our next step of faith – to become the missionary pastor at Hope Baptist Church.  We look forward to sharing more with you about Hope and the need for Jesus Christ among the Ojibwe people of the White Earth Nation.

Praises & Prayer Requests
Praise the Lord for the miracles He has done already in our transition. We listed our house for sale on March 28th and it sold within 48 hours! Please pray for us as we navigate the logistics of interstate moving and as we search for a home in rural Minnesota. Lord-willing, I will be installed as the missionary pastor of Hope Baptist upon their anniversary in September. Also be praying for our family as we travel across the country this summer to present our ministry and update some of our supporting churches before the official installation in September. Thank you for praying!

For the cause of Christ,

Marty, Logan Michelle, Aliza, Annie, Ezekiel, Isaiah & Max Roembke

De Ford March 2023

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses,
the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:2

Dear Prayer Partners,

Shalom, from the Hualapai Indian Reservation! It may seem like an unusual greeting from us, but our recent visit to Israel has us glowing in the afterlight of that trip. I’ve heard for years that a trip to the Holy Land will change your perspective on your Bible study and so much more. That is certainly the case with us. We flew out on January 31 for a two week visit with Hualapai Baptist’s missionary (ambassador) serving the Jews. This makes the third foreign mission trip in the past several years. Thanks to some generous contributions, Sherry was able to travel along this time with Steve and a deacon from our congregation.

Feb/March 2023

After returning
home, HBC, held our spring revival services with Evangelist Chase Williams. Brother Williams and his wife were a great blessing to our congregation. Mrs. Williams had a special ministry among our young people each night during revival. During the week, we hosted a special community wide outreach that resulted in 16 salvation decisions! We are working now to connect with these new converts, see them discipled, and faithful in church. Please, pray with us regarding this need. In many cases we only have phone numbers to follow up with, and as such are relying on calls to be returned to us.

In March, several of our men attended the Wet Branch men’s retreat in Marana, AZ north of Tucson. Steve was pleasantly surprised to see Missionary Stan Stringer at the meeting. Brother Stringer was Steve’s elementary school

principal way back in 1977 after first arriving on the mission field. The retreat encouraged our men as always, and we were especially thrilled to have a newcomer to our congregation attend for the first time!

Our teens attended a youth rally in Southern California for the first time since COVID struck. Our hearts have gone out to our current teens as they have missed out on so many of the opportunities the other young people have had before them. Everyone is thankful schedules are getting back to normal. A couple of our teens have made recent decisions both during revival and youth conference to follow the LORD however He may lead in their lives. We see the principle of 2 Timothy 2:2 applying to the next generation!

For God’s Glory,

The Steve De Ford Family