A Few Meetings in California

Directly after our last update, we travelled to Bakersfield, CA, where we would be staying most of the month. We have been so grateful for the Brocks allowing us to stay with them while we visited area churches.

My first visit was to Calvary Bible Church in Lucerne Valley. I had travelled a number of miles to be at the service, so I remember arriving a bit tired. But it was invigorating to see what the Lord Jesus is doing there as his people are coming to a renewed zeal for proclaiming the gospel to their loved ones and friends. I was glad to have been among them.

During the month I was able to work with Pastor Mark Brock of Crossway Baptist on a series he is preparing to use for outreach. Jenny and I enjoyed having opportunities to serve and help where we could. And they were an immeasurable encouragement to us too. It was pleasantly surprising to see how many in the church were not around when I presented last time. Pastor Mark gave me the opportunity to present the work again as well as to preach to this vibrant congregation.

Last Sunday we were given the chance to present our mission to Faith Baptist Church of Orange County. We were surprised to meet a number of people there with whom we shared friends and acquaintances. This committed group of believers evidenced a deep-seated compassion for the lost in their own city and around the world. I'm thankful for their example.

Please pray for us as we travel today and throughout February. We need safety, and we long to find ministry partners. Pray also for productivity and skill as I attempt to get our information packet updated and sent out to potential partners.

Praise the Lord for a good month of meetings and for being our Shepherd every mile of the way.

Holidays and SGI

The Pittsleys have enjoyed a restful time over the holidays. At the beginning of December we presented our work to Lighthouse Baptist Church in Colorado Springs. I will long remember being thankful to visit this church because they were zealous about sound teaching and because the wise pastor works to keep the main thing (i.e. the gospel) the main thing.

In between the morning and evening service at Lighthouse Baptist, we took the opportunity to visit the believers at High Country Baptist Church during their afternoon service. The weather prevented us from spending long there, but in the past I've enjoyed the doctrine class they do for adults in the afternoon. This visit was no disappointment! Solid doctrinal depth strengthens the soul for the task.

We spent Christmas and New Year's in El Paso, TX. We were showered with gifts from family and from churches who are partnering with us. God has been so good in his lavish care for us through you. Thank you all who were a part of it.

I just returned from an excellent missions conference at my sending church, InterCity Baptist. My own resolve for the mission was significantly strengthened by the worship, preaching, and workshops. Interestingly, one of my future partners has recently been picking up some of the same lessons through Kenya's drought that I've been learning here:

I learned a valuable lesson from the drought. You see, when the soil is rich and the rains are good, the trees on the property are healthy and strong.... When the drought comes, the trees are stripped to their bare minimum - it is survival mode. Anything that is not needed is cast off. Some of the trees lost all of their leaves in order to survive.... Now a few months later, they are full of leaves and flowers. The trials this past year have made me re-evaluate what is important and what is necessary.... Just like the trees, if you make it through this period, you can come out stronger and possibly bear even more fruit than before because you have focused on making the tree stronger.

Tomorrow morning we're taking off for California. We have meetings there all the way through the 31-Jan. On the weekdays during the rest of the month, we'll be staying with the Brocks and helping out where we can with Crossway Baptist Church. We're eager to get involved directly in local church ministry and thankful to the Brocks for the opportunity.

Please pray for health and safety, for more ministry partners as the church's we visited last year determine their budgets, and for our own growth in holiness and Christlikeness.

Fun Times and Beautiful Scenes

We're spending a bit of time right now in El Paso, TX, where I grew up. As I mentioned in my Thanksgiving post, we are thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with my family during the holidays. In typical El Paso fashion, it snowed most of yesterday, but the snow's nearly gone now. The nearby mountains have kept some of their snow.

Before coming here, I flew from San Franscico to New Orleans for the national ETS conference. I enjoyed a number of the lectures I heard, but the best part was seeing some of my seminary professors and friends from seminary. I came back spiritually refreshed and recommitted to pursuing the treasures found through rigorous mining in the Scriptures.

Before that, Jenny and I enjoyed getting to know Calvary Baptist Church of Hollister during a missions conference there. The fellowship among the missionaries during this conference was especially sweet. The church's heart for missions and the cause of Christ was evident.

Pray for continued health and safety as we round out this year's meetings. We will be traveling to Colorado Springs at the end of this week.

EDIT: I'm supposed to remind my supporting churches of two things:

1. Please send all support checks payable to Grace Baptist Mission with my name in the memo blank.
2. Please consider attending an exciting conference for college age students: SGI 2010

Stream-of-Consciousness Thanksgiving

Here are a number of items I don't deserve listed in the order that they occurred to me:

1. That my penultimate destination, Kenya, has good coffee.
2. That my ultimate destination has Jesus.
3. That all I needed to qualify for the gospel call is to be a sinner.
4. That my wife loves me.
5. That I'm home for the holidays.
6. That I'll have the chance to get to spend some time with old friends in the new year (DV).
7. That I won't be hounded by my old ways in the new earth.
8. That the gospel has saved/is saving me from the futility of multifarious idolatries.
9. That four churches have decided this year to partner with us for the progress of the gospel in East Africa.
10. That my work on the foreign field will benefit from the influence of experienced missionaries and national pastors.
11. That Josiah finally ate all of his turkey.
12. That my boys still seem to like having me around.
13. That Jenny and I love our in-laws respectively.
14. That our in-laws love us each respectively.
15. That my dad and I share appreciation for a good cup of coffee.
16. That my brother works for Starbucks.
17. That so many people have been willing to give themselves to forming my mind in accordance with the lordship of Christ.
18. That I can enjoy time with family without all the drama that family gatherings often entail.
19. That grace in Christ frees us from the penalty of sin.
20. That grace in Christ secures the smile of God.
21. That grace in Christ cracks the skull of our old master, sin.
22. That grace in Christ affords an eternity of wonder and joy in God's presence.