I would like to start off this month's report with a thank you. First, thank you to my home church, Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, TN and my Pastor Tom Hatley. Since the beginning of our deputation they have done nothing but help us. Whatever we have needed, FBC has been there for us. I also want to say, thank you to my wife Meagan for all that she has done while on deputation. As I am writing this letter she is packing as much of our belongings as she can into black army bags. I am very thankful for her selfless spirit and Godly attitude. Thank you to all of our supporters who have been behind us. Some of you have been supporting us for over 2 years while we finish our deputation. God bless you all.
97 Days!
105 days until our departure date! What a blessing and an encouragement to start our countdown!
July was a fun month! We celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary, our middle son turned 4, and we did a lot of traveling. We were excited to be home for our own church’s VBS! I was able to preach in our “gospel station,” and we saw 10 kids profess Christ during the week. Glory to God! We want to say thank you to all of those who have been praying for our visas. South Africa has changed some of their rules concerning visas in the past month. Plans change and we have learned while on deputation to be flexible. We know God is in control and he will provide as he always does. Four new churches added us to their missions team and we are closing in on 90%. We are very excited about this but we still need about 10 more partners so we can be fully supported when we leave for the field. Thank you to all of those who have given. We want to give a special thank you to Pastor Chad Gordan and the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Jackson, Ga. They recently took a trip to South Africa and they were able to take four large bags for us. Of course when we think of July, Independence Day is often our first thought. What a privilege to be born and raised in a country that was founded on the gospel. Not only that, but the “Bible Belt,” of America, with a Church on every corner. I can’t help but think about how drastically different my life could be if I were born in South Africa. You see, there is freedom to worship there, but whom would I be worshiping? With a “hodge podge” of religion, I would most likely be lost and on my way to Hell. "BUT GOD, who was rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us". We are excited to go share the good news with our friends in South Africa! June in Review Set up Fund - We were able to be in 12 churches - 6 plane tickets - was 5500 now $4300 - We had 4 churches partner with us! - Vehicle in SA - $5000 now 4500 - We are at 88% - Shipping/Customs - was 2500 now $1800 - We travelled 3,000 miles in 4 states TN, GA, MI, Just like that we are halfway through the year. It is hard to believe we are already in July. Summer is a fun time for churches and families, full of vacations and Bible schools and camps. In the past, we have felt that although it be fun, it can be a slow time for meetings on deputation. That being said, we have been thrilled with what God has done in the last few weeks. We were able to present in several churches and 6 decided to partner in our ministry. That is the most we have ever had in one month, and we give God all the glory. This means we only need 17 more churches to be fully supported. We do still have a few openings in September and October if anyone is interested in hearing about our ministry.
Our family was able to attend Sand Mountain Bible Camp in Trenton, Ga a couple weeks ago and had a tremendous time. We were able to share the gospel with many children and 3 accepted Christ as their Saviour. It was also good to have a time of rest and relaxation as well. We are very thankful to Pastor Philip Trask for the opportunity. We will be in several meetings up north over the next few weeks and are anxiously waiting to apply for our visas. Apparently, applications can only be submitted 3 months prior to your trip, so it will continue to be a waiting game. We will be able to get the ball rolling in August, so that will be a matter of prayer. As we are finishing up deputation, we have been reflecting on all the Lord has done in our family the past 2.5 years. We have added two children to our gang, and our oldest 2 have grown so much. Avett will be celebrating his 4thbirthday on the 18thof this month. Not only have our children grown, but we believe the Lord has used this as a time of growth for Meagan and I as well. We are thankful, and pray He continues to prepare us for the field He has called us too. We appreciate all the love, support, and prayers of God’s people. June in Review Set up Fund - We were able to be in 8 churches - 6 plane tickets - was 5500 now $4500 - We had 6 churches partner with us! - Vehicle in SA - $5000 - We are at 83% - Shipping/Customs - was 2500 now $2000 - We travelled 2,041 miles in 4 states NC, MS, TN, GA June Prayer Letter
We have purchased our tickets!! This is such an exciting step, as we can now start thinking about preparations for moving, and settling down in the ministry God has called us to. We will be leaving for South Africa on November 27th. We are very excited about getting to the field, but we still need 23 more partners to be fully supported. We know the Lord is able, and we are trusting He will provide over the next few months. We are currently at 77% ; thank you to all of those who have continued to pray and support our ministry. In May we celebrated our mothers. I am thankful for my Godly wife who does a wonderful job raising our children on the road. After resigning to the fact we just weren’t going to get any meetings on mothers day, God once again provided, and we were so excited to share our work in New Albany, Ms. That day in particular stands out to me, because I was able to talk to a man named Hector at a restaurant after church. We talked about his soul, and unfortunately Hector is catholic and had never heard a clear presentation of the gospel. He seemed pretty receptive though, and the seed has been planted. Will you please help me pray this man will accept Jesus Christ as his savior? After mothers day, we were blessed to be in some local meetings close to home. This was a blessing as we were able to be home for some family events such as birthdays and graduations. We are still awaiting Mercy’s passport and then we will be making our way to New York City to apply for our visas. We also have some open dates for this summer if any Pastors would like us to come and present our work. Set Up Fund Needs- Still Needed
May in Review
The time has finally arrived! We are looking at purchasing our plane tickets in the next couple of weeks! We have reached 75% of our needed support and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We only need 25 churches to partner with us to reach our full support! After praying and seeking counsel, we have decided we need just a few more months to raise the remaining support, and November will be our departure date. The Lord has been so faithful during this deputation process and we know it's all in His perfect timing. We are now looking at finishing our set-up fund and we will also give updates on that in our next few letters.
We have been in some amazing meetings and conferences this past month. We love to hear testimonies and stories of people from all over America who were lost and now are found in Christ. So many people who never grew up in church like I did and many who were intrigued when they heard about the gospel. Many who watched christians to see if their Christ was real. We serve a Christ who deserves to be worshipped, praised, and served with our lives. Are you living your life for the cause of Christ or for the cause if self satisfaction? We are patiently waiting for Mercy's birth certificate, some changes to paperwork and Lord willing we will apply for our visas later this month. Please make this a matter of prayer. We would love for this to go without any problems and to be accepted 4-6 weeks after we apply. We are ready to get to South Africa and begin language school asap. We are so close I am literally having dreams about being there with the people God has called us to go minister to. Many times in these letter we make it about "us" and "our" ministry, but we cannot forget about the millions in SA who have never heard the good news of the gospel. Many are suffering just to make it to tomorrow and many will die before we ever make it to the field. Lets continue to fast and pray for the World. Prayer requests: Set-Up Fund Needs - Still needed - Visas 1. 6 plane tickets - $5500 - Raise the rest of our support 2. Vehicle in SA - $5000 - Traveling mercies 3. Shipping/Customs expenses - $2500 April in Review - We were in 8 churches and 3 conferences. - We had 5 churches take us on for support! - We are at 75% support - Travelled 4,276 miles in 5 states, TX, TN, OH, IL, WI We have a new baby! Mercy Kaylor Sullivan arrived on Tuesday March 27th. Momma and baby are healthy and we are praising the Lord for his blessings. We did not have to reschedule or cancel any meetings because of the baby, which proves to us that Gods timing is the best. Please continue to pray for Meagan and baby as they continue to travel with us as we present the need in South Africa.
We started out the month of March with a couple of weeks blocked off for the baby, but God booked Mallorie and I in 2 more meetings in Iowa and Pennsylvania. We are thankful for this and we were able to stay busy while in wait for the baby. We also had great week with Pastor Wesley Barefield in Houston, Texas and we will be in churches near home over the next couple of weeks. We still have some more Sundays open in our summer if anyone would like for us to come present our work in their church. I have a praise to tell you about this week. I bumped into a man that use to attend our church before Meagan and I were married. We had an opportunity to share the gospel with him in his home about 8 years ago. He did not accept Christ at that time. I was burdened for this man and have prayed for him over the years. I saw him again in town this past week and invited him to our Easter services. He was happy to tell me that he and his wife accepted Christ the previous week and was attending another church in town. It was an amazing reminder to me of Pauls words "some plant, some water, but God gives the increase"! Please pray for -Meagan and Mercy - Traveling Mercies - Full book in summer. Visa process March in Review - March was our 27th month on deputation. - We were in 4 churches and 3 missions conferences. - We had 2 churches partner with our ministry. - We are at 71% of our needed support. - We travelled 4000 miles in 5 states GA, TN, MI, IA, PA It is baby month!
We are still patiently waiting for Mercy to arrive. Thank you for the prayers. - We had an amazing conference in Detroit earlier this month. Pastor Dan Broaddus and the Wick Road Baptist church spoiled us. They gave us many gifts and voted to partner with our ministry. We were greatly blessed to be invited. - Mallorie and I were able to be with Pastor Billy Carter and the Grace Baptist church in Dubuque, Iowa. We received a great spiritual blessing. They treated us like royalty and we were able to make some friends along the way. Thank you very much for allowing us to come preach and present our work at your church. - We have a conference coming up in Pennsylvania. Please pray for Mercy to make an appearance before we have to leave for this conference. Of course we will move whatever meeting we need to so I can be here for the baby but we would love to be able to make all the meetings we can so we can get to South Africa as soon as we can. - We are now at 70% of our needed support and praying we can get to South Africa by the end of the summer. Thank you for the prayers and support. God bless you all. We are very excited about this upcoming month! We are expecting our 4th child and 2nd daughter. Mercy Kaylor Sullivan is due this month and the doctor says it could come as soon as the 2nd week in March. This is earlier than we planned so we still have some meetings in the early part of March we need to make. I am so proud of my wife who, while being 8 months pregnant has still traveled with me so we can fulfill God's will for our life. Please pray for Meagan as we continue to travel.
As we continue to move forward with deputation we are still amazed at the blessings that God showers on us. We have had many prayers answered that past couple of months and we are excited to share them with you.
A couple of months ago we requested prayer for Meagan and the baby. There was a potential problem that could have been a cause for concern. The Lord has since resolved that problem for us and we praise his name. The doctors expect everything to go normally from here on out. Thank you so much for your prayers. Sometimes along the christian life we can get weary in well doing and maybe even discouraged. But, God is always faithful in sending encouragement right when you need it. Earlier this month we were able to be with Pastor Remington and the Grace Baptist church in Coleman, Michigan. Not only did they partner with our ministry but they met a need before we even had a chance to put it in the prayer letter. The kindness and generosity of God's people always amazes us. As we slip in to February I am quickly realizing more and more that it is crunch time. We are so excited as our departure date is quickly approaching but we still have a lot of work to do. Please pray for us as we try to get in as many churches as possible over the next few months. We are trusting God to raise the rest of our 35% as we still plan on leave in late August of this year. Will you pray about partnering with our ministry or having us in to present our work in your church? There are souls in the balance. Please pray for –
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