TOM
and PATTI WHEELER
WBF Missionaries to
WALES
January
2003
Dear
praying friends,
Greetings to you in this new year of 2003. As we look back, we have
much to be thankful for in
2002:
1.
Health Issues
Patti and I are both feeling like going again after my successful surgery
and her successful course of medical treatment.
2.
Tabernacle Baptist
Church (our sending church) they purchased a video projector, paid for
our video to be produced, and picked up other expenses that we would not
have been able to afford just coming off the field for furlough.
3.
Pastor Lyndel Lee
and his family they allowed Ian to stay with them until August, giving
him an opportunity to readjust to life in
America
among friends in his home
church.
4.
Great churches
across
America
that have supported us and/or
given us an opportunity to present our work. We so appreciate the following
churches that have recently added us to their mission family: Central
Baptist Church in Ingleside, Texas; Anchor Baptist Church in Wichita Falls,
Texas; Bible Baptist Church in Justin, Texas; and Corinth Baptist Church in
Decatur, Texas.
5.
The Senior Sunday
School Class at
Calvary
Baptist
Church
in
Grand Prairie
,
Texas
that special offering right
after the mission conference made it possible to go ahead and get our
airplane tickets to go back to
Wales
.
6.
Ians adjustment
to life at
Bible
College
he has successfully
completed his first semester at
Arlington
Baptist
College
. Much thanks to President Bryant
and the faculty and staff who have invested so much of their lives into
those young people at ABC.
7.
J.A. and Pam
Richards great missionary friends who have done an outstanding job
filling in for us during this furlough.
8.
The salvation of
James Gerry a young man that we spent much time ministering to in Wales,
finally came to know Jesus as Savior, and wanted to call and let us know
about it.
9.
The privilege of
seeing souls saved and saints challenged to be more personally involved in
missions and evangelism during our furlough travels.
Indeed,
we have many friends who have been a blessing to us this past year.
As
we look forward to flying out on the 8th of April we do have some
prayer concerns:
1.
We came home
knowing that we needed to raise substantial support during this furlough. We
now have less than three months until departure and are expecting that the
Lord will supply the greater part of what is needed in these final weeks.
2.
After six years of
a fairly strong dollar, it began to lose value towards the latter part of
2002. A bit of calculating revealed that this has cost us the equivalent of
about eight good supporting churches. Of course this is not a problem while
we are stateside, but upon our return to
Wales
we will feel the crunch.
3.
There will be only
two Wheelers returning to
Wales
rather than the three we came
home with. Aside from the obvious sadness of leaving our son stateside, we
will be minus an integral part of our ministry team.
We
know that our Lord knows all about these situations, but still would ask
your prayer support as we finish this furlough time and transition back to
the field. God bless all of you for your faithfulness.
Yours
for souls in
Wales
,
Tom
& Patti Wheeler