CHRISTMAS 2025
“Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift.” II Cor. 9:15
Dear Ones in Christ,
2025 has been a year of many changes for us. We will share a few to update you in an acrostic of CHANGES.
Church As you may recall, after stepping down from the pastorate at Living Waters Baptist Church, ministering to the Yavapai Apache Tribe, we began attending Native American Bible Church on a smaller section of our reservation. In January, our 88 year old pastor developed covid, followed by pneumonia, and after a long struggle, he went home to be with the Lord. During his time of illness, he had asked Gary to fill in for him. At his passing, the church folk asked Gary to continue. After much prayer, we felt the Lord’s leading him to fill the pulpit until the Lord brought in a full time pastor. It has been a blessing to us to minister there. They are dear people and a joy to work with.
Home In May we sold our home in Rimrock and moved to Cottonwood. It has been a good change for us, as it is where our hospital and doctors are located, as well as where we shop, and we are 9 miles from our church compared to 24 miles before. As with older houses, there are several repairs and updates we are working on, but we are very thankful for the home God has provided for us.
Another Great grand baby! In May we had the joy of going to Arkansas to meet our second precious Great-granddaughter, Ophelia DeLaine Tyson, who was one week old at the time. Also, we were able to attend the high school graduation of our Granddaughter, MaKayla Tyson.
November brought us visitors throughout the month to our services. Please pray for the spiritual needs of Emmanuel, Crystal and Claudia.
Gary has been in therapy for is back and neck and also for his balance, due to his fall in 2024. It has been a help, but he will be finished at the end of December.
Evangelizing opportunities Recently, we hired a painter to paint the soffit on our new house. He had done some painting for us at our old house, so we knew him fairly well. After he finished the job, he and Gary talked for quite some time. The conversation led to the Bible and salvation. Ryan said he had never accepted Christ as Savior, but he was very open to all Gary shared with him. Gary supplied he and his girlfriend with Bibles, and we will be following up on this opportunity. Please pray for their salvation.
Also, Bev hosted a Christmas Tea at our house for the church ladies and two visitors. It was a great time of fun and fellowship.
So blessed! God has been SO good to us this year and throughout our 82 years of life! He has guided us through the changes, kept us safe and well, and continues to give us opportunities of service. What more could we ask?
We want you to know how very much we appreciate your faithful prayer support for us and the ministry here. We pray you will have a blessed Christmas and 2026!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
*Spiritual needs of Emmanuel, Crystal, Claudia, Ryan and his girlfriend
*More folk on the reservation would have the desire to be in church
*Strength and better balance for Gary
In His Service,
Gary and Bev Messick