Let me first tell you about our men's conference from this past weekend. My husband had a burden for men to become strong leaders in their churches even before we started the church here, so the first year after we started and every year since, our church has hosted a Men of the Word conference. Each year he asks a different pastor or teacher to come and teach the men on topics to help build them up to be the strong leaders we need in our churches. This year he had Dr. LeRoy Pennell, pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Barrie, Ontario. Being a lady, I wasn't there, but from what I heard, Dr. Pennell did an excellent job of teaching. Apparently, we will soon have the husbands of our dreams, as that was the title of one session: How To Be the Husband of Your Wife's Dreams! :) About 55 men from independent Baptist churches all over BC attended. My husband said everything turned out well, from the food to the fellowship and games to the preaching.
Now to the title of this post. Many times we pastors' wives and missionary wives like to report on all the shining moments and good times happening in our ministries, and there are many of those times happening. But there's the other side of any ministry, the side that isn't quite as glamorous and we don't like to dwell on. With any ministry where people are involved (and I think that's pretty much all ministry!), you will have times of disappointment, tears, frustration, and hurt. At any given time in our church here, we have one or more people struggling with sickness, addictions, pain, fear, and outright sin. We pray with folks, try to help them overcome sin and addiction and fear, minister to their physical needs... all while attempting to keep ourselves spiritually refreshed and available to help others. And it gets hard. Very hard. We love what we do, but many times it's not easy.
Am I telling you this to elicit sympathy? Not at all! I'm telling you so that you can know how to pray for your pastor and for the missionaries your church supports. We're in a battle for the souls and lives of people. Satan will not let go without a fight. So we need your prayer. We need to hear from you every now and then. One of the biggest blessings I received on deputation was a simple postcard from a lady in one of our supporting churches who said she was praying for me. It came at a time when we were very discouraged, and it was like the Lord Himself reached down and gave me a hug!
I would encourage you today to take a few extra minutes to pray for your pastor and his wife. They will never tell you a word of the burdens they carry, but remember that on any given day, one or both of them are probably dealing with some problem or other. Write your pastor's wife a note to let her know you're praying for her. It may arrive at just the time she needs it! Send an email to a missionary's wife, just to see how she's doing. It will make her day!
Tags: eingana v1.5 death deity life rebirth religion as a belief continuing continuing hide journey journey seek black hooded cloak waxing half moon moves free translation turkish english turkish
