“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

My heart is full of the good reports that have come into the office lately concerning those taking major steps in the journey of life. Pastor Paul Assignon from Togo, West Africa, shared an experience that touched my heart. “This young man was fleeing from his family. He lives in another village which is about 15 kilometers from us. He had a bag filled with some of his clothes and belongings. He said that demons and witches are after him. He could no more sleep in his room because of these bad spirits. He is afraid for his life because, according to him, this opposition is coming from his family. When I was talking with him, he brought out a Bible from his bag, saying that it was given to him by a girl when they were in college, but he never read it. The Lord opened the eyes of this young man that night to see the truth and to believe in Him and to accept Him as His Lord and Savior. Do you know that this young man went back with a great joy to his village that night? WHAT A WONDERFUL SAVIOR WE HAVE! Serge is no more the same. You can see this joy in his face whenever he comes to church. Serge continues living in the same house, in the same room since he gave his life to the Lord and he is no more disturbed in the night by these evil spirits. PRAISE THE LORD!” You know how important it is for us to be ready every moment when the opportunity arises to present the saving grace of our Lord Jesus.

Cheryl, in our office, shared that in January 2019 836 professions of faith and 635 baptisms have been reported with another 8 pending. This is exactly why Nancy and I keep keeping on for His glory! This is really what IGM is all about when we say, Together, Reaching the World for Christ.

Life is a journey and God works, guides, nudges, allows us to walk through the valleys and through our willing spirit, He will direct, comfort and encourage us each mile of the way. It is blessed to have such a Heavenly Father. January has been a busy one. Garnet Samuels, from Grenada returned on January 24th for a follow-up with the doctor who did surgery on his left eye. The report was not as good as expected and it is recommended that another surgery take place before the eye becomes any worse. However, surgery will eventually be necessary. On the January 25th, the Wodome family arrived to eventually take Etienne Degbey to churches beginning March 3rd. Kouami Midekor arrived at the Mission on January 27th to care for some personal challenges and with a “messed up neck and lower back.” I have made several trips to the doctors with him and improvement is coming. We now await the arrival of Etienne Degbey and Jutike Rao for visiting the American church. Please pray since meetings are becoming more difficult in the spiritual cultural decline.

There are still transitions taking place here at the Mission. Holly Baltich, our new financial manager, is moving forward in a real positive way. We have had a few setbacks in other areas but we know that our Lord has everything under control. Our Mission Council is taking more of an active role in many needy areas for our future and I am personally excited about what the Lord has for IGM. The most proverbial issue is more operating funds so that more might be accomplished in reaching this world with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Your prayers for Nancy and I are never taken for granted and your financial support is deeply appreciated. We both thank Him for the strength that He provides from day to day and for each of you who help make this ministry move forward in reaching the lost and establishing local churches around the world.

PRAISE:
• Daily strength, wisdom, and health to serve our Savior
• Our new Finance Manager, Holly Baltich
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
• Booking meetings for each 6-week period (If your church would like to schedule a meeting for Team 1, Team 2, Team 3, or Team 4 – please call the IGM office, 585-334-9048) • Safety for traveling – March 3 – April 7 – Koffi Wodome will be taking Etienne Degbey from Togo to meetings (Degbey has many “Open for Meeting” dates). *Michael Grubbs and Gary Newhart will be taking Rao Jutike from India to meetings.

NOTE:
We will not be having our Mission Training School in August this year. We will be bringing two National Church Planters for six weeks at a time, see dates below:
Team #1 March 3rd through April 7th
Team #2 April 28th through June 2nd
Team #3 September 8th through October 13th
Team #4 November 3rd through December 8th

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
*Team #1- March 3 – April 7, Michael Grubbs and Gary Newhart will be taking Rao Jutike from India to meetings:
March 3-MS Embassy of Christ Bible Ch. Churchville, NY
March 3-ES Open for Meeting
March 6-Wed. Charity Bible Church, Scottsville, NY
March 10-MS Faith Bible Church, Honeoye, NY
March 10-ES Open for Meeting
March 17-MS Open for Meeting
March 17-ES Amazing Grace Bap. Ch., Oriskany Falls, NY
March 20-Wed. Open for Meeting
March 24-MS First Baptist Church, Angelica, NY
March 24-ES Bethel Baptist Church, Bergen, NY
March 27-Wed. Open for Meeting
March 31-MS Maranatha Baptist Ch., Dover, DE
March 31-ES Open for Meeting
April 3-Wed. Open for Meeting
April 7-MS Maranatha Bible Baptist Ch., Watertown, NY
April 7-ES First Baptist Church, Three Mile Bay, NY

Call the office if your church would like to schedule a meeting for one of the “Open For Meeting” dates.

March 19–IGM Council Meeting
June 10–IGM Council Meeting
Sept. 10–IGM Council Meeting
Dec. 10–IGM Annual Council Meeting