I am happy to announce that the grip of COVID is beginning to loosen. Lately, the attitude of people is beginning to change for the good. It has been a long nearly two and half years but, thank the Lord, we seem to be pulling out of it and the difference is beginning to be seen in your mission works across the state.

         I have noticed a change in the countenance of our men as they are beginning to see some fruit for their labors. They have worked through maybe the worst time in our lifetime to be in ministry and have remained faithful to their call. Please remember to pray for them as they continue to be your mouth and legs across the state, carrying the precious message of Christ. Read their reports as they share God’s blessings with you.

From Our Missionaries

Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “On Saturday, Mariandree Ramirez, a girl from our congregation, graduated Magna Cum Laude as a nutritionist at UCA. It was gratifying to participate in her graduation ceremony and celebrate with her and her family. We congratulate Mariandree. She is an example of effort and dedication.

         “On Sunday, the men and young women who are not mothers lionized the mothers of our congregation. We cooked, gave each one a rose and served them at the tables. In addition, the children and adults sang songs alluding to Mother’s Day.

         “For my family, it was a bittersweet celebration because, before the program began, we were informed of the death of our beloved sister, Freeda Webb, who was a member of our mother church and became very close to us. Please pray for comfort and strength for her family.”

Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “It has been a week full of activities. On Monday, the Berean Group (home group) at Stonehedge Dr. had eight present. On Wednesday, the Bible study at the home of the Alcazar family had six; and on Thursday, the Berean Group at Southwest Little Rock had five present. On Tuesdays, I am trying to have Bible study with Ricardo Delgado, a 16-year-old young

         man who considers himself agnostic but is open to listen. We had an inspiring service Sunday, and the presence of God was among us.

         “Pray that, with every Berean Group or discipleship group, the Word of God will be preached and that people will come to repentance and be new disciples. Also pray that new believers like the Alcazar family will be strengthened and rooted in faith. May God make an impact in Ricardo’s life, and may he come to repentance. Only God can make these changes.

         “Keep praying for the election of our first deacons. Yesterday one of the three I am praying for said yes, but he wants to know more about what it means to be a deacon. I am already preparing a training for them.

         “God has been good, but the enemy is not happy (sick, job changes and the economy are some of his strategies). The wonderful thing about the spiritual struggle is that we are on the winning side. I am very grateful for your support and prayers. You are part of the team!”

Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “What a day we had at Faith Chapel! Now, this is complicated, so I will try to get it right. We met Morgan, a teenage girl, last July 4 at our outreach event. We knew she was special from that time. She kept going back to the park and bringing other kids back for hotdogs. One of them was named Kenny, and he was also one of the boys on bicycles I asked you to pray

         for a few weeks ago. He also came to our morning worship service this morning by himself.

         “Morgan had started coming to church the next week (after July 4) and had been pretty faithful. She also brought her mom, her great aunt and grandmother. Well, her mom was the one that joined last week, and we all went to The Bridge Church (our mother church) to baptize her tonight. She invited a lot of her friends and neighbors. To make a long story short, Bro. Hershel brought a spirit-filled message and, at the invitation, two came forward and were saved. Morgan was one, and Kenny’s dad was the other! Praise God! They asked if they could both be baptized and join too, only they want to be baptized in the river. I said sure, we can do it in the river. Praise God!

         “I am constantly amazed by the way our awesome God works, how He uses us, and how He uses those that don’t even know it! Praise God! I can’t wait to see what He is going to do next.

         “Thank you for your prayers for us, Flippin and all of those that we have asked you to pray for specifically. God is hearing and answering them! Please continue!”

The Table, Springdale: Clinton Morris writes, “We had quite a few new visitors to our community event on Monday. One of our frequent guests invited many of us to his house to watch a game on Saturday. I was able to go and have a great conversation with him about the gospel and also about the church. He said when he gets his work schedule sorted out, he and his family will come

and see.

“I went to another local game meetup on Tuesday to encourage the guy running it. It was great having a second point of contact with some of the folks that are coming to the house on Mondays.

         “I had meetings from morning to night working on more discipleship opportunities for our folks on Thursday.

         “DeAnna has also had several doctors’ appointments these last few mornings. Everything checked out, just routine checkups. Office work and message prep were on the schedule for Friday.

         “I had several meetings on Saturday morning about local community efforts. I am so excited to see how God is using this work to create opportunities to reach people. In the evening, I went to watch the MMA fight and meet with Gio and his family. Please continue to pray for our contacts and the people of The Table.”

Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “We hope all our amazing moms had a happy Mother’s Day! We enjoyed celebrating the mothers who attended Faith Journey Baptist with a small gift to show them how much we appreciate all they do for their families. We had a time of sharing with each other about special memories that we have of our mothers. ‘Her children rise

up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass then all’ (Prov. 31:28-29).

         “Our sermon this week was from Exodus 20, about trusting God to meet all our needs and not trying to rely on our own abilities to make a way of our own. Many times, we feel that we need to help God with the plans He has already set forth in a specific way, and we try to tweak it to what we think His plan should look like instead.

         “We made the front page of the Saline Courier newspaper this week. It featured a picture of one of our first children’s church attendees with me, entitled ‘Sharing the Gospel’. It is such a blessing to be able to have that put in the Sunday edition and have our name put out into the community about the start of Faith Journey Baptist Church in the Benton area. Hopefully, this will help spark interest in a new church plant and bring in some first-time visitors. We are eagerly watching to see what God has planned!

Hispanic Mission, Northwest Arkansas Area: Roberto Marcelletti writes, “A cordial greeting from Northwest Arkansas. It has been a month and a few days since we arrived in this beautiful city. I have begun a time of prayer and making connections with the people we have been meeting, while keeping in mind II Cor. 5:20 that we are ambassadors and that in the name of Christ we speak to people to be reconciled to God.

         “We are praying for a group of people we have met. They are 18 people, and God has pleasantly surprised us with the Rodriguez Family — Sergio, Ana, Freddie and Ariel. We invited them on April 16, and since that Saturday they have been coming every Saturday. We have shared the Word of God, and they are very interested in continuing. Patty is teaching Freddie, the teenage son of this couple, to play guitar.

         “We were also told to pray for family members Jonathan and Veronica, who lost their home in the rains last week due to flooding. We pray that God will help us to reach them and support them during this ordeal.

         “We already have a family! I ask for your prayers as we have a meeting with a woman, Irma Chavez, who works with many Hispanics in the area.

         “Other than that, we are very happy and have loved the city and feel that we have come to our place. Blessings, and I hope you are doing very well.”