Dear Praying Friends,
He is risen! This last Sunday we celebrated the Triumphal Entry of our Savior and now we are preparing for Easter. It is an exciting time. The Lord has provided us with a home to be able to host people and on Good Friday we will be having a fellowship dinner at our home. There will be somewhere between 20-25 people for the fellowship. Also, the Lord has provided opportunities for us to share the Gospel with individuals in our community and to speak with them about visiting Grace Baptist Church. Recently we had an electrician come to our house to fix a few things and I was able to talk with him a bit and invite him to our Easter service (because he said his church attendance amounted to Christmas and Easter).
Grace Baptist had what was called a "car-boot" sale on Friday last week. It was a combined rummage sale with other people. All of the money from the sale is going to Baptist churches in the Philippines that have recently been hit with a typhoon. The sale raised over $300! While at the sale I was wearing a Michigan Wolverines basketball shirt and a gentleman noticed the shirt and was very excited. It turns out he is a Michigan fan as well. After talking with him for a while he shared his testimony with me and that he is looking for a new church to attend and so I invited him to Grace and he said he would visit. I know what some of the Ohio State fans are thinking, 'At least that shirt was good for something other than wiping up spills,' I guess the Lord can use anything even a Michigan shirt to reach people.
There is much to pray for here in this ministry. Pray for the few Christian teenagers here as they battle the pressures in the school system. Also, pray that we would have visitors for Easter Sunday as we had for Palm Sunday. There is the matter of setting up our taxes here in Australia that still needs to be worked out. We have been praying for that as well. Pray that Stephen, the man at the rummage sale, would visit soon, and also the electrician, John.
We are so thankful for your prayers for us. God is able to answer and meet our every need! Eph. 3:20, 21 "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."
In Christ,
Mark Pitts and Family
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Praying Friends,
One month ago today we stepped off the plane here in Australia. I can still remember how tired I felt. Time continues to move and it seems like the blink of an eye and it's gone. In James 4:14 it says "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." Can you think back to what you were doing on Valentine's Day? That was exactly one month ago. God wants us to use our time wisely for His glory because our time is short. May we use the time He has given us to share the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
This month has been filled with running here and there and setting up life in Australia. New driver's license, medical cards, banking, and getting our taxes set up have taken much of our time. There is still some set-up left to do, but the Lord has allowed us to accomplish much in the past few weeks. With all that we have been involved in ministry at Grace Baptist Church. I have had the opportunity to preach, lead Bible study, and we both had the opportunity to serve at our "Family Fun Day" outreach. The Lord brought over 30 new kids to the outreach and we were able to meet their parents as well.
We have experienced frustration and excitement since we have been here. Frustrated over waiting for Internet, not being able to prove that I live in Australia, and traveling to set something up only to have them say they forgot to tell you to bring more paperwork. Excited though to see these things get done, and have an Australian driver's license, a phone, Internet, and car insurance. In life the frustrations seem so big at times, but God is in control and He is working everything out to His glory.
Thank you so much for praying for us. God knew everything we would experience in this first month, and He has led us each step of the way. It is encouraging to know that we serve a God who is not surprised by events like we are. He desires us to trust in Him every day in every situation. Please keep praying.
Requests:
-Pray that God would work out all the remaining details of our start up here in Australia
-Pray for wisdom in handling the transition into a new culture
-Pray for God's direction of Grace Baptist Church
-Pray that our daily lives would be glorifying to God, and that our children would see the joy of serving Jesus in our lives
In Christ,
Mark Pitts and Family
One month ago today we stepped off the plane here in Australia. I can still remember how tired I felt. Time continues to move and it seems like the blink of an eye and it's gone. In James 4:14 it says "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." Can you think back to what you were doing on Valentine's Day? That was exactly one month ago. God wants us to use our time wisely for His glory because our time is short. May we use the time He has given us to share the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
This month has been filled with running here and there and setting up life in Australia. New driver's license, medical cards, banking, and getting our taxes set up have taken much of our time. There is still some set-up left to do, but the Lord has allowed us to accomplish much in the past few weeks. With all that we have been involved in ministry at Grace Baptist Church. I have had the opportunity to preach, lead Bible study, and we both had the opportunity to serve at our "Family Fun Day" outreach. The Lord brought over 30 new kids to the outreach and we were able to meet their parents as well.
We have experienced frustration and excitement since we have been here. Frustrated over waiting for Internet, not being able to prove that I live in Australia, and traveling to set something up only to have them say they forgot to tell you to bring more paperwork. Excited though to see these things get done, and have an Australian driver's license, a phone, Internet, and car insurance. In life the frustrations seem so big at times, but God is in control and He is working everything out to His glory.
Thank you so much for praying for us. God knew everything we would experience in this first month, and He has led us each step of the way. It is encouraging to know that we serve a God who is not surprised by events like we are. He desires us to trust in Him every day in every situation. Please keep praying.
Requests:
-Pray that God would work out all the remaining details of our start up here in Australia
-Pray for wisdom in handling the transition into a new culture
-Pray for God's direction of Grace Baptist Church
-Pray that our daily lives would be glorifying to God, and that our children would see the joy of serving Jesus in our lives
In Christ,
Mark Pitts and Family
Friday, March 1, 2013
Dear Praying Friends,
Wow, there is so much to write about I don't really know where to start. The flights across the globe went well. We had long layovers but the Lord brought us through safe and we did not lose any of our luggage. Upon arrival two missionary families were at the airport to meet us. They then drove us to our house in our own vehicle and we started to settle in.
The first days here have been spent trying to get life set up in a new place. It has been such a blessing to have missionary co-workers to help us through this process. There is so much that we would not have known if not for those who have gone before us in this process. We thank the Lord for providing such wonderful friends.
The first Sunday at Grace Baptist Church was wonderful. There was a service that involved a moment of prayer where we were in the center of the entire group of believers as they prayed God's blessing on us in Australia. Then following the service there was a lunch where we could have a chance to sit down and meet the people. It was a great time of fellowship, and the people are so kind. Last Sunday I had the privilege to preach. This Sunday we will be having a Family Fun Day to reach out into our community. It will be a dinosaur theme, and we will center around the truth that God created the dinosaur and He also created us. There have been hundreds of fliers handed out, and our prayer is that we would see many come to this event and then return next Sunday for service.
There is still much to do in the whole start up process, and we are still awaiting the arrival of our shipping container. Thank you so much for your prayers for us, and your support financially. God has brought us here and He will sustain us here. May God bless you all.
In Christ,
Mark Pitts and Family
Wow, there is so much to write about I don't really know where to start. The flights across the globe went well. We had long layovers but the Lord brought us through safe and we did not lose any of our luggage. Upon arrival two missionary families were at the airport to meet us. They then drove us to our house in our own vehicle and we started to settle in.
The first days here have been spent trying to get life set up in a new place. It has been such a blessing to have missionary co-workers to help us through this process. There is so much that we would not have known if not for those who have gone before us in this process. We thank the Lord for providing such wonderful friends.
The first Sunday at Grace Baptist Church was wonderful. There was a service that involved a moment of prayer where we were in the center of the entire group of believers as they prayed God's blessing on us in Australia. Then following the service there was a lunch where we could have a chance to sit down and meet the people. It was a great time of fellowship, and the people are so kind. Last Sunday I had the privilege to preach. This Sunday we will be having a Family Fun Day to reach out into our community. It will be a dinosaur theme, and we will center around the truth that God created the dinosaur and He also created us. There have been hundreds of fliers handed out, and our prayer is that we would see many come to this event and then return next Sunday for service.
There is still much to do in the whole start up process, and we are still awaiting the arrival of our shipping container. Thank you so much for your prayers for us, and your support financially. God has brought us here and He will sustain us here. May God bless you all.
In Christ,
Mark Pitts and Family
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