First Baptist Church Lindale

Update from Jackson Buck:

(The one guy I'm with in those two selfies is Raymond. I stayed with him for my first couple of weeks here. That picture of me playing a game is with some people from the community who are teaching me how to play mahjong.)

Dear Church Family,
I want to start by thanking you all for your support leading up to my internship here in Scotland and for the continued prayers during my time here. I have almost finished my third week in Edinburgh and have settled into the church and developed a good routine here.

Most of my time consists of being in the church, building relationships, and serving wherever I am needed. I have gotten multiple opportunities to teach via Sunday nights, Bible studies, and the kids’ group. In just these short three weeks, I have been able to build wonderful relationships with the members of the church and those within the community.

Hope Church Bingham heavily focuses on community outreach and being a light within the darkness of the scheme. There are several events each week that are directly organized to bring in people from around the community as an opportunity to share the gospel with them. The outreach that they have been able to have has been wonderful and such a blessing to see.

The Lord has also been immensely working in my heart during my time here. Although I came here to serve and grow in my understanding of the local church, I did not expect such personal growth in my walk with the Lord in such a short time. The Lord has continued to break me and teach me that He is all that I need and He will sustain me each hour of every day. That my strength, peace, joy, and contentment all lie in Him and there is nothing else that I need apart from Him.

Although the Lord is teaching me the ins and outs of the church and ministry, I’ve realized that the reason the Lord has brought me here is not to gain more head knowledge, but rather to prepare me and grow me into a man capable of the ministry. A man who can take the head knowledge that I have learned and faithfully apply it to serving the church and my own personal walk with the Lord every day.

I am so thankful for this opportunity and know the Lord will only continue to grow me. I only ask that y’all would continue to pray for me during my time here, that the Lord would use me to properly serve the church and He would continue to bring me closer to Him. That I would continue to rely on the Lord to sustain me and that I would remind myself each day that if I were to lose everything on this earth, I have the only thing I’ll ever need which is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Sincerely,
Jackson Buck

Latvia team update, from Josh: "Last night’s Bible study with the youth was great! Praise the Lord! Weston taught tonight’s lesson, and it went very well. That time with the youth is not necessarily part of the VBS ministry, but is for the youth leaders who help with translation and child engagement. The VBS wrapped up day 2 a few hours ago. There are about 105 children participating, and all of them are constantly being pointed toward Jesus.

Bryce is feeling MUCH better after resting today. Thank you for the prayers!

Please continue to pray for:
Our leaders, that they would be energized and intentional in their activities with the children.

The children and youth leaders, so that they would clearly understand the gospel and respond with faith. For those who already follow Jesus, that they would grow spiritually and be discipled.

Tomorrow we will break from our normal schedule to have a water fun day in the afternoon. The weather forecast for tomorrow shows a high of 68°! In the evening, we will finish up the study with the youth.

We praise God for His work so far and eagerly anticipate whatever is next."

Pray for the Trulls and Cronans who are in Latvia, sharing the gospel at a VBS camp.

1) Bryce, their son who is also one of their team members, is not feeling well with a headache and possible fever
2) Josh led the youth Bible study last night for about 30 Latvian teenagers
3) Pray for the children to have a great time while engaging with the gospel!
4) Weston will be formally presenting the Gospel to the entire camp on Friday