As we check in with you this week, we are encouraged from the good reports we are hearing of what God is doing in the nearby church plant in Sihhu.  Some of you will remember that we assisted in the work there prior to making Baozhong our sole focus.  Recently some people prayed to receive Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord.  There are people who wish to be baptized.  The number of people attending church activities has increased.  We join with them in rejoicing and pray God’s continued blessing on that work.
Lorne spent time this last week learning a new bookkeeping system for keeping track of the Mission finances.  He is sure that it will be done faster as he becomes more familiar with the system.  Having such tools help us to efficiently use the financial resources given to us.

We had a visit from a team from a church in Canada this past week to discuss ways to partner together. Our discussion included ways they could help us from a distance using technology as well as the potential for sending a team next summer.  Yes, we are already thinking about next year.  We encourage you to pray and ask God what He might want you to do during the next year.  Some things, like short-term mission trips, require advance planning.  Are you ready to be involved in what God is doing–either near where you live or further away?

We had a good discussion at our team meeting today as we reviewed what God has been doing over the summer and listed things we anticipate will happen over the next few months.  We still need to make decisions and put plans in place with regard to where we will make time commitments for the Fall.  Please pray that we will know God’s desire about each aspect of our part in His ministry.

The October Prayer Short-Term Mission Trip is one of the Fall events.  This year there are five participants coming from the Toronto area.  They will be coming to pray for our town, for our church, for those working here, and for Light to push back the darkness.  We are thankful that God has placed on the hearts of certain individuals to be intercessors.  If you are one of those people, we welcome you to write for additional prayer requests.  Perhaps you could even come on a short-term prayer trip next year!  We value prayer and believe that God chooses to act to answer prayer.  Prayer is an foundational part of the work here in Baozhong.