Jan 2015
Dear Friends in Christ,
A few months ago, Sam’s Mom had to be moved from her home on a Maryland farm, into a nursing home. She never really enjoyed this move and seemed to struggle with colds and various viruses that she was now exposed to. On Jan. 10, she finished this earthly life and entered Heaven. She was 95. Since she had accepted Christ’s gift of salvation, we can only rejoice with her. The family is planning a memorial service after the weather warms up, so we won’t be traveling back during the winter months.
During the holidays, we receive many letters from friends that we only hear from once a year. I’m sure you have found that true also. We enjoy hearing from you and knowing how God has been working in your lives over the past year. We have also had some share with us that they pray for us often; sometimes weekly and sometimes even daily. What an encouragement that is to us.
We can’t always share the things we deal with. We often are asked for help as people experience marital and family problems, health problems, legal problems, financial problems… These are personal for others and we don’t feel free to share them. Yet they are also a challenge to us. We are not doctors, lawyers, or economists- but want to give Biblical counsel in dealing with life’s situations. We need your prayers that we give Godly wisdom and not personal opinion. We also need prayer that we don’t become overwhelmed by other’s burdens but recognize that God is the One they need for their strength. This may be what your own pastor is going through and he surely needs your prayers also.
Also, this month, we were encouraged as we listened to a young Navajo man give a presentation of his ministry among college students in the Ukraine. This man’s family attended the church while we were in Tuba City, so we knew him when he was a child. We look back and remember his mother accepting Christ and his father returning to the Lord. What a difference is made in a home when God is put first! His father is now preaching in a Reservation church that is without a full-time pastor.
It is very difficult for the Navajo people to leave the security of the Reservation, or to send their children to another country to serve for even short periods. Chuck has married a Ukrainian woman and they have made a long-term commitment to serve in her homeland. It warms our hearts to see this young couple starting their ministry, as well as two other young men, Jeremiah and Tim, who are on a short term mission trip to teens in Florida. It is rewarding to know that we had a part by ministering to their families when they were just children. We need the next generation to step up and be willing to serve our wonderful Saviour.
Thank you for your prayers and Christmas gifts sent last month, along with your regular financial support.
In Christ,
Sam & Janet Grammer