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