NEWSLETTER
DECEMBER 2008 

As we come to this wonderful time of the year, we have so very much to be thankful for.  God has richly blessed us here in America.   No other nation in history has received as much from the hand of the Lord as we have.  Above all the temporal blessings that we enjoy, the greatest Gift from God was the gift of His Son.  Paul expressed it In  2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

It seems impossible that we are approaching the end of another year.  It seems like yesterday that we were beginning 2008 by setting up a new accounting system here at the Mission Office.  (Praise the Lord that is has worked wonderfully!)  We are on course for another record year in offerings for our missionaries, even though the national economy is struggling.  That is a wonderful testimony to the faithfulness of God’s people to give for the cause of world missions, and also a wonderful testimony to the greatness of our Lord in providing the need for the carrying on of His work.

The WBF Mission Family has experienced a great many blessings from the Lord during this year.  Many souls have been won to Christ by our missionaries around the world.  New churches have been planted.  Workers have been trained for the ministry.  Even though some in our mission family have had serious illness, God’s grace has been manifested in their lives. 

God’s great truth has been demonstrated, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Please continue to be much in prayer for Alan and Kathy Hart in Mozambique, Africa.  They still have not received their residence papers and their temporary permits will soon expire.  They have submitted all the required documents and everything is in order, but the final approval of their visas has not yet been issued.  Complicating matters is the fact that the country is going through national elections, which means that new officials may be taking the positions of authority.  If the residence visas are not granted before their temporary papers expire, they will have to leave the country.  That would be a real detriment to the work there in Mozambique. 

Please remember in your prayers those in our mission family who are struggling with illness:  Little Eliana Densmore is once more fighting pancreatitis, complicated by a staph infection.  At this writing, she is in the Children’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado.   Helen Smith is recovering from a third surgery this year.  She is having a great deal of pain with this surgery.  They had to delay their return to the field due to the surgery.  Pray for a quick recovery so she can safely travel to the field.  Doyle Whaley continues to struggle with Alzheimer’s and pulmonary hypertension.  He has to be on oxygen 100% of the time now.  Juanita Bowen is recovering from knee replacement surgery and has had a lot of pain.  Charlene Neill and Sandy Janky are both doing well in their recovery from hip replacement surgery.  Debi Harris is recovering from pneumonia and Phil Harris is having some testing done in Brazil.  Mike Lane is still undergoing treatments for prostate cancer and Dale Brown is doing pretty well in his battle with MS.  The following continue their daily battles with illness:  Mary Gagnon, Gloria Higgins, Monnie Bacon, Joe Hawkins, Dana McCutchen, Darla Brim, Jim Mitchell, Amber Cato.  Prayer is always the best medicine!

“Thank You” seems to be such a feeble way to express our gratitude to each church family and each individual Christian that sacrificially gives and faithfully prays so that our missionary families can continue to do the work around the world.  Not a one of our missionaries could remain on the field, if it were not for the faithfulness of God’s people.  On behalf of our entire Mission Family let me express our thanks and our wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!