I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:14

You may have heard an old saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” We live in tough days spiritually speaking. The enemy is well and working overtime which begs your prayers more than ever for the Newharts and IGM. The apostle Paul in Philippians 3:1-15 begins his final statements by saying, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord…” He then goes on to give warning to those who will come to destroy. Yet, in verse 3 he points us to our focal point when he says, “and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” He further describes the past, the present and the future. I appreciate his true appraisal of himself. He gives admonition to all of us by indicating that failure is not an option but to keep moving forward until we obtain that maturity of completeness in Him. This is why he could rightly say, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect (complete or mature), be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” How I am reminded by the Spirit of my short-comings, which ultimately brings me to my knees to cry out to Him in my deepest being for forgiveness and by His grace, to move forward. I’m sure you have figured all these things out in your journey and I am just speaking to the choir!

Nancy and I are doing well overall. Our minds are still very active and many goals still lie before us for 2019. We spent Thanksgiving with our daughter and her family and a portion of Christmas with our son and his family. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. We spent Christmas morning together and we decided to “clean house”, literally, beginning with the stuff (our two children’s) that had been pulled down from the attic and stacked in the garage. We made great head way and now the vehicle can fit. New Year’s day was sort of the same, only in our family room, attempting to make room for a new piece of furniture coming in early February 2019. We both are looking forward to what He has for us in 2019 and especially to the pastors that will be joining us in March and part of April. It looks like we will be invaded by five from Togo and one from India coming soon to Mission headquarters.

The transitions are moving forward here at IGM. Our new finance manager is doing well and we are thankful for Holly’s sweet spirit and love for the Lord. It is great to have Sonja Nenonene helping Holly through the many details and particularly the closings and tax time, etc. Our annual meeting went very well with a sweet spirit from all the men present. Doug Watson served us well as chairman for two terms and Russ Alexander has become our new chairman. We are looking forward to working with the eight members of our Council and moving IGM forward in being able to reach more souls with the Gospel around the world. The challenges for the Mission are great pertaining to the financial needs. This hinders us from accomplishing many needy areas of the Mission such as greater functionality in accountability and individuals to provide the watch care. We will be using our National Field Representatives in their particular country to provide a greater degree of help in this area. Personal travel will be determined as the year progresses even though there are many that would like me to visit their countries.

Please be in much prayer as we continue on the journey God has laid before us. I am certain that 2019 holds many challenges, but also many victories. Many thanks for your faithful prayer and/or support as we serve the Lord.

Sincerely, in His Unconditional Love,
Gary and Nancy Newhart
Proverbs 3:5, 6

PRAISE:
Daily strength, wisdom, and health to serve our Savior
Thanksgiving spent with Faith, Steve, Steven, Zachary, Megan, Jonathan & Mia
Christmas day supper spent with Luke, Jennifer, & Aubrey
Garnet Samuels’ successful eye surgery on December 13th (Check-up appointment January 24th – Rochester, NY)
Our new Finance Manager, Holly Baltich, started December 1st

PRAYER:
Maintenance and gardening help to care for the needed repairs on our buildings and grounds.
More MSA (Mission Service Account) funds needed to run IGM.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
March 3 – April 7:
Rao Jutike, India and Etienne Degbey, Togo – Lord willing, will be going to meetings – March 3-April 7. (If you would like to schedule a meeting with either National Church Planter – please call the office – toll free 1-844-334-4646 or 585-334-9048 and ask for Michael Grubbs, Communications Coordinator.) The Wodome Family (3), and Kouami Midekor (1) all four from Togo, will also be with us at this time.
March 19—IGM Council Meeting
June 10— IGM Council Meeting
Aug. 22—IGM Council Meeting (MTS)
Dec. 10—IGM Annual Council Meeting
MTS (Mission Training School)
Aug. 18-26—Mission Training Week
Aug. 28—Oct. 6—MTS Team Travels