At the beginning of November we assisted in the funeral of a godly soulwinner here in New Zealand. Bro. Neville Keys was a constant witness and faithful preacher of the gospel. His funeral presented an opportunity to preach the gospel to those who were closely acquainted but have not yet trusted Christ. We are praying for God to raise up more soulwinners in his place!
We also had a long-anticipated visit from some of Alyse’s family this month. It was refreshing to see family and enjoy the fellowship with them! Immediately following their visit, a church in Hamilton, NZ hosted their annual Faith Promise Missions Conference. What a great blessed to see a massive increase of their missions giving last year, and again this year!
A new family began attending in November through a simple invitation from members in our church. Please pray specifically for Ryan as he fulfills work obligations out of the country for the next few months. It has been a specific answer to prayer to see one new family each month start attending the church! Although we will lose a faithful family this month due to a move across the country (and to another good church), God has filled His church in 2023.
The nursing home service that started in October was well-attended again. The coordinator has expressed that there is much greater interest in our service than any of the other “styles” of services. People are starved for the simple gospel preaching that is rarely available in churches today!
Several new items on the schedule are a weekly ladies’ prayer meeting and a time of mentorship for several young men who have just finished high school. This mentorship will transition into formal ministry training when the new school year begins in February. Please be in prayer for the training of these young men.
In the previous youth group meeting, there were three new teens, and 26 attending. Continue to pray for conviction and salvation of those in attendance without a testimony of salvation yet. More youth events are scheduled throughout the next two months with summer vacation allowing those opportunities.
The final week of November, we celebrated our second Thanksgiving in New Zealand. We our grateful for support shown by our team of churches and friends in the States.
Josh, Alyse, Bentlee and Raelynn Szwarga