Dear Ones in Christ,
Many changes have occurred in our lives since we last wrote you in March. We will share a few to update you.
We had mentioned in that letter that the pastor of the church we are attending on the Clarkdale section of our reservation, had developed covid and covid pneumonia, and before he had recovered from those, he came down with viral pneumonia. Brother Don had asked Gary to fill in for him during that time. After struggling for three months, the Lord took Brother Don home to be with him on April 23rd. At his passing the church folk asked Gary to continue. After much prayer, he felt it was God’s will for him to fill in until the Lord brought in a permanent pastor to take over the work.
We began our letter with Matthew 18:20, because we are a small group, but they love the Lord, and we are so enjoying the fellowship as we gather to worship our loving heavenly Father. Gary didn’t
expect to be pastoring again, nor did Bev envision getting to teach children’s church again, but we are very thankful God has given us the opportunity to meet a need at this time.
May was a month filled with many exciting events! Some of you know that we have sold our house, and the Lord provided another home for us in Cottonwood,AZ., about 20 miles away from our former home. It is a good location as it is where we have always done our shopping, and is much closer to our church.
Also, on May 23rd, our second great- grand baby, Ophelia DeLaine was born to Jake and Jessica Tyson. She is very precious and much loved, especially by her two-year old sister, Emma!
On May 30th, we had the privilege of flying to Arkansas to meet Ophelia and to attend the high school graduation of our granddaughter, MaKayla. It was such a blessing to spend time with all of JD and Jenny’s family and to catch up on their lives.
From there, we flew to Indiana to be with Bev’s family. Bev’s nieces, Sharilyn and Gwen, planned a family luncheon and about 35 nieces and nephews and their mates attended. It had been quite awhile since we had seen some of them, so that was a very special time.
We are back home and still unpacking boxes, just taking our time, as there is no hurry. For those of you who don’t have it, below is our new address.
PRAISES;
New area of service for the Lord
New addition to the family
Sale of our old house
New home
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Wisdom in shepherding our flock
Gary’s neck and back issues
Thank you for faithfully standing with us these many years. God bless you,
Gary & Bev Messick