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Founder Est. 1973 Director
Rev. Fred Potter P.O. Box 692 Bristol, TN 37621-0692 Rev. Mike Nixon
Tel. (423) 354-0342 or (423) 878-5800 e-mail cbmission@juno.com
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This song is about how Fred Potter got saved, written by Danny Minton. |
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It is our privilege to welcome you to the Charity Baptist Mission web page. We hope this will be a testament of what the Lord is doing in America and throughout the world. In 1973 the Lord laid upon my heart to start Charity Baptist Mission Inc., here in Bristol, Tennessee. We started it because we were opening a children’s home in Mexico. From there the Lord continued to bless and increased the areas to other countries by which we could share the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour. It has been truly a blessing to see how the Lord has used missionaries to reach the lost and see them saved. We believe in the Authorized King James 1611 version of the Word of God. It has stood the test of time and we believe this is the only true Bible. To God be the Glory!
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updated 9-12-24 |
Brookside Baptist Church 2024 Fall Camp Meeting
Monday October 21st - Friday October 25th
Service times:
Monday - Friday 10:00 AM, (2:00 PM prayer meeting) and 7:00 PM
Three meals per day, with limited lodging available - service pets only.
For more information call: (423) 878-2771 or (423) 646-1352
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Watch Brookside Baptist Church live streams at:
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Missions Updates
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September 2024
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15
One of the great hopes we have as a child of God is the security of knowing that heaven is waiting for us when we die. It also gives us peace to know this is true for our loved one who died with faith in the Lord. August 29th at around 2:23 PM my mother went to be with her Lord. Words cannot express the impact she had on my life and the lives of my children and grandchildren. She was also “Mamaw” to many others. She was loved by so many whom she touched by the love she so eagerly shared. Thankfully, we were able to be with her when she went on to be with the Lord. We returned to the States when it became evident that Mom was going to pass. Thankfully we were able to be by her side at home under hospice care, as she peacefully went on to be with her Savior. Please keep my father in your prayers as he adjusts to life without his partner of 62 years.
We will be returning to Bulgaria on October 17th. During this time, we will be waiting for the arrival of two new grand babies. Zack and Haylie are expecting around mid-September and David and Mckenzie around mid-October. We are praying that we will be here for both. The latest we can stay due to our visa process is October 17th. We will be taking this time to assist my father in any way that we can and of course seeing our new grand babies.
The work in Bulgaria has been going well. We have experienced one of the hottest and driest summers on the books and with that have been unprecedented wildfires. The construction project in Avren has gone very well. I’m grateful to all those who contributed to this. We still have a little way to go in completing all the interior work; flooring, electrical, plumbing, kitchen appliances and bathroom fixtures. We trust the Lord to supply these needs as they arise.
We recently had a “Sofra” in Avren. A sofra is a special meal and gathering to commemorate or celebrate an event. In this case it was a celebration. Many people came, and it gave us a good example of what we desire to do with the building and church in the future. We all are very excited for what the future holds in Avren.
As always, I am grateful for your prayers and support. We ask that you remember us in these coming days as we prepare to return to Bulgaria a few weeks from now. We will be hosting Brother Duane Moore for a week when we return and look forward to seeing what God will do during the time that he is with us. Please also pray for our daughter and daughter-in-law as they await these babies to come and for my father as he adjusts to life without mom.
God bless you all,
Brother Keith Blalock (A printable PDF version with pictures is available here)
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May – June 2024
Dear Pastors, Churches, and Fellow Saints,
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
I am very thankful that the Lord blessed my wife and me with ten beautiful children and eleven grandchildren. Our youngest daughter, Charity, graduated from Pensacola Christian Academy in May. We are very proud of her and thankful for everyone who helped her accomplish this. We are also grateful for the time we could train her in the “way” she should go.
I’m thankful for that way, also known as the gloryland way, the old paths, the gospel road, the right way (Gen. 24:48), his way (Deut. 8:6), the good and the right way (Isa. 12:23), thy way (Ps. 25:4), and God’s way (Acts 16:17). It’s a glorious, blessed, satisfying, peaceful, and life-giving way. I entered the way in 1979; I received the Lord Jesus Christ (the way, the truth, the life, John 14:6) as my Lord and Savior and was translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. It’s a wonderful way.
We are not only admonished to train up a child in the way he should go, but we also have the promise that when he is old, he will not depart from it. It’s the way he was trained in, always before him, written in his heart, and he can’t depart from it.
I believe the prodigal son was trained in God’s way. Yet when he left, he couldn’t help but compare the “bad way” to the “good way.” He went from being “in want” to having “bread enough and to spare,” from not “worthy to be called thy son” to “this my son,” from “took his journey into a far country” to “I will arise and go to my father,” from “fain have filled his belly with the husks” to feasting on “the fatted calf,” and from sent to the fields of swine to the father having compassion on him, kissing him, and receiving him safe and sound. What a blessing! No matter how far he strayed from his father’s way, he could never get so far that the way he was brought up in departed from him. As a Christian father, I take great solace in the promises of God found throughout the scriptures. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us (2 Cor. 1:20).
Concerning our new building in Avren, Bulgaria, we have started to hold church services. Our families meet here to have an English service on Sundays. Bibles and songbooks in the Bulgarian and Turkish languages are printed and bound here. We are close to finishing the building, but still have a little ways to go. We cannot express enough our thankfulness to all who prayed and helped out financially.
All because of Calvary, (A printable PDF version is available here)
Matthew and Jane Welch
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June – July 2024
Dear Praying Friends and Family,
I hope this letter finds you enjoying the Lord’s word and will. The last two months were spent in meetings in OH, KY, ND, MT, and ID. It was a great blessing to visit with these pastors and their congregations again, even if it were for a few hours. My brother-in-law, Pastor Samuel Witter, asked me to preach a two-day revival, while we enjoyed meeting his new bride, Emily. We were encouraged in these meetings seeing the Lord move during the invitations and an increased interest among young people to help on the mission field.
We’ve begun the paperwork process for religious visas to return to Ukraine. We do not know how long the process will take due to the war. Please pray for all that is involved.
My right-hand man in the ministry, Pastor Alexei, has been called up to appear at the local recruiter’s office. He has had exemption status since the war began which has given him the freedom to lead the ministry. He was in the category that does not require parents of handicapped children to serve. However, Ukraine recently changed these laws making conscription for him a possibility. Please pray with us that they will extend his exemption. There are many legal aspects of our lives, both personal and ministerial, that are in his name. If he were to be conscripted it would affect many, especially his wife and family.
I was hoping to make another short trip into Ukraine during the latter part of August. My vehicle, however, broke down during our travels and repairs were very costly causing us to postpone the trip till later this fall. We are, at the moment, prayerfully considering our family making a three-month trip into Ukraine without waiting for our visas. Such a trip would allow us an opportunity to accomplish much work before winter hits. This would include allowing us to encourage the church, continue trips into eastern Ukraine, prepare our house for our return, put up food, and take care of our paperwork on that side of the ocean.
Please continue to pray for the following requests: 1) the Lord’s guidance and provision for our next trip to Ukraine; 2) God’s provision for a gas generator, and for a well to be drilled; 3) our paperwork; 4) God’s will for Samuel and Susanna; 5) God’s comfort, wisdom, and safety for our men in Ukraine; 6) the growth of those recently saved; 7) our study of the Ukrainian language; and 8) for the war to end. My family and I would like to thank you all for your friendship, fellowship, prayers, and support of us in this work that God has given us. May the Lord Jesus bless you as you continue to serve Him.
That Ukraine May Know Him,
Christopher Rue A printable PDF version is available here https://ruemissions.com
https://www.facebook.com/p/Rue-Family-Missionaries-to-Ukraine-100068352738533/
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August 2024
“And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus.” Acts 20:15
To family, friends, and fellow saints,
Chapter twenty of the book of Acts recounts the return trip of Paul’s second missionary journey. The chapter stands out, and in particular this verse, because it still sums up many return trips of modern missionaries. It sounds like our return: depart Dulles in DC; arrive in Germany the next day; depart Germany for Austria; tarry in Austria; eventually depart Austria for Bulgaria; greeted in Bulgaria by friends; take another short journey to our ultimate destination. Things haven’t changed much in two thousand years, except maybe the part where Paul was minded to go afoot.
But there’s a bigger lesson to be learned from the text as well: We’re on a journey. We’re headed someplace. We may be pilgrims and strangers, but we’re headed for a country and looking for a city. We’ve said our goodbyes. We embarked by faith, and we have hope, that calm and certain assurance, of our arrival.
We, like Paul, have traveling companions. Not only do we have a great cloud of invisible witnesses cheering us ever onward, we have a visible company of likeminded travelers. All of us have made our departure from the city of destruction, deposited our sin burden at the foot of Calvary, and are making our way by faith and patient endurance, with the grace and mercy of God, to the celestial city. More even than those we meet and walk a while with on the road of life, we have a great, indwelling friend, able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, whose riches in glory are inexhaustible and every ready to us, who vowed never to leave nor forsake us no matter what the road holds.
As too, like our text, every day has its own adventure, its own challenges, trials, temptations. The Christian life is anything but dull when you set out to follow Jesus. New souls in familiar places, or new places with abounding opportunities or oppositions are around every bend and on every horizon.
One day, as with Paul’s journey, after many twists and turns, ups and downs, blessings and blastings, we, by the promise of God, who cannot lie, will reach our destination. Unlike the journey of the text, ours doesn’t culminate in a place as much as at a person. See, we began with Jesus; we travel with Jesus; and one day, bless His name, we’ll appear in His presence. We’ll see Him face to face and never desire to see anything else again.
There is such a feeling of peace arriving at your final destination. God was so good to us on this trip, I can’t explain it. After all these years traveling to and fro, I think this had to be the easiest trip we ever made. Our ride from Bristol to DC was excellent. John Porter drove the bus, and Luke Welch provided security. Google guided us, and Ben Franklin kept us fueled up and caffeinated. But it was God who went before us, contented us, and provided peace and joy. Why, even the check-in folks at Dulles were friendly! In fact, every employee at every stop seemed to be having a blessed day. God sure is good! Then to meet Keith and Tracy Blalock at the airport and be driven to an apartment we’ve never even stepped foot in, and find the other missionary ladies had prepared a welcome – it was better than good. We checked everything over and couldn’t have been more pleased. What an arrival!
It took us a little longer than usual to get our sleep schedules adjusted. One night I heard Carrick playing his guitar on the balcony off of his bedroom. I had to tell him he couldn’t sing “Country Roads” at 2AM out of doors; people who hadn’t traveled from America were trying to sleep. Two weeks after our arrival, we all came down with Covid. That seemed more in line with being back in Bulgaria. Between that and Hannah’s renewed battles with Bulgarian bureaucracy, we’re feeling everything fall back into place.
We were able to attend a special Turkish meeting in Avren a few days after returning. Young Pastor Alish has a new grandbaby that they were afraid had some health issues. Alish decided to have a service to preach to his family and a sofra to thank God for whatever outcome He gave. Isn’t that wonderful? Listening to believers thanking God regardless of what might be, sure does stir the soul.
Tomorrow we’ll have our big Turkish meeting in Dabravino. It’ll be good to renew old acquaintances again and worship once more with them in their language.
Oh, let me tell you about this. Yesterday, Dixie Joy, along with all her siblings and Hannah, were going to spend the night at “Mimi’s” (Jane Welch’s) house. For whatever reason, while packing the car with their luggage, Dixie’s bag got overlooked. When they arrived at Mimi’s, they realized what had happened and immediately called me. I went to where the car had been parked, and there was no bag to be found. Dixie Joy was inconsolable. Miss Jane said she’d buy her another bag and they’d replace the contents. However, inside the bag was a bracelet from her BFF, and that couldn’t be replaced. So together, Momma and daughter stopped to pray and ask the Lord that it would be returned. After praying, she made a post about it on Shumen’s Facebook page. An acquaintance saw it and shared it, as well. A few minutes later, a friend of that acquaintance saw it and reported she had found it and turned it in to the police. I was able to retrieve it this morning with everything (laptop, earbuds, clothes, and especially the BFF bracelet) still intact.
Pray for us. Pray for the nationals. Pray for this people. Pray that blinded eyes would be opened, and seeing eyes would look to Jesus. Pray for the family as we get back into the swing of things. Pray for Bro. Matt Welch, who’s back in America awaiting knee surgery at the end of this month. It’s a big expense, and he’s paying it out of pocket. Pray God raises it all quickly. Pray for Bro. Larry Leach, who has a house to sell here. Pray that God works in that situation, granting a buyer and peace of mind and heart for Bro. Larry. Pray for Bro. Zach and I as we make our way down to Turkey. Pray God would prosper our journey and go before us.
We love and miss y’all.
Because of a living Savior,
The William LeFevre Family (A printable PDF version is available here) www.facebook.com/bulgarianlefevres
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Summer 2024
Halito! Hello!
As I write this letter, we are taking a few days breather in Yaak, MT, after being in services Saturday and Daniel preaching Sunday. This place is very special to us as we have been coming here for many years. Many of you have heard us talk about it and the church here. There aren’t many places you go where you see moose playing outside your door! We love the Yaakers!
When we finished our spring meetings back East (where the Lord met with us and His people) we began the summer work in OK. The summer work is a time of focus on children. The Choctaws do their VBS a little different in that they have adult classes and also close the VBS every night with a preaching service. We started June off helping at Grace Indian Baptist at Talihina, OK. The membership of the church is a blessing because they have stepped up and do their own VBS now. We hang out with them and I teach the mission story, Daniel helps in preaching, and Mrs. Shirley with music, but for the most part they are self-sufficient and I mean that in the best of ways! They rely on God, but have taken off the training wheels so to speak and are following the great commission like “white” churches! It’s like a family atmosphere and we saw four young people come to Christ!
We moved on to Indian Baptist Missions Camp the second week of June. We helped with the teaching, music, and preaching. The crowd was small this year, but we did have some Navajo come from NM. We pray the Lord will restore the ministry the camp has had to many tribes for 30+ years.
The 3rd week of June found us at Keota, OK and New Hope Indian Baptist Church. This church is among the oldest in OK and was most likely started by Choctaw Missionary Peter Folsom. In fact, he is buried here on the church property. It is around 140 years old, with no pastor and the decimation of Covid, the church has only a handful coming, but they are faithful. We were privileged to work with Grace Indian Baptist and help them with a VBS. The members from Grace worked their jobs and then drove the hour and a half one way to hold the VBS every day. The Word was shared and the people of New Hope encouraged. They are not alone and not forgotten by a Heavenly Father who loves them!
The last week of July was spent at Spring Hill Church in Honubia, OK. This week is more like a family camp. Day classes for all ages till noon, followed by lunch and then mandatory singing school learning Choctaw and English hymns. We have nightly services for all enrolled at the VBS, and those that live nearby come also. Mrs. Shirley had to teach the 2-5 year-old class for a couple of days when Mrs. Josephine had to work, and little did she know the young man helping her was one she had taught 30 or more years ago! God is so good! Some that have attended the camp for years have chosen to walk away from truth and the Lord. It’s an answer to prayer when they come back and also to see the Lord still save souls along and along like He did young Peyton, this week. This brings us to July and we had one more VBS to work in at Zion Missionary Baptist in McAlester, OK. Once again, we teamed up with Grace Indian Baptist.
Again, we had classes and a service after. We taught on the book of Daniel for four of the five weeks, so we were all familiar with our lessons and it all worked smoothly. The Higginbothams have been going to Zion for about 37 years or so.
Like most Native churches they were in need of a pastor, but they have had Bro. Ron Burning fill in for them in the winter months and now Bro. Ross is helping with preaching on Sundays. Because of this they have had more people coming. Zion has a Godly heritage and I know they were being cheered on by a great cloud of witnesses. Unfortunately, as you leave OK and began to head west this is not the case.
The Choctaws have had the gospel before leaving MS on their trail of tears. Whereas, most reservations have no church of any kind, and especially not a Bible preaching, fundamental church.
We went home to rest a bit before heading to Fort Hall, ID and the Shoshone Bannock tribe. We merged with Missionaries to the Sho-Ban Joe and Lela Copley, Hoopers Creek Baptist from Fletcher, NC, Missionaries Gerry and Sherril Locklear and us! Whew! We have worked with this team several years and it’s a joy as all hands are on deck. Faith Baptist Church has grown in number since last year! How wonderful! The tribe will not allow us to door knock so it’s up to the parents to bring the children, which some did! Or Mrs. Lela and Bro Joe to run their normal bus routes. The church was full to capacity every day, with people standing around the walls! We finished the week with four young people coming to know Christ and left some wanting to know more. We believe that God will continue the work started in these young and old hearts. Psalm 119:130 KJV. “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple”.
When we got to Fort Hall, ID we found out that the next two VBS with the Kalispel and Spokane tribes in WA state had been canceled. The church that was going to be working with us locally were unable to work this year and unfortunately neither tribe was responding, leading us to believe that they were not interested in a VBS with their children. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16:9 KJV. “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries”. The Adversary does not want us to labor in these fields and there are times God shuts the door. We pray this is not the case. Does not Christ love these people? Is His arm to short to reach them? Is the Light of His Love grown too dim to shine in these dark places? Or is it that the churches of America have no burden for the lost? My mind goes to the pictures in the old days when a fire broke out on a building and the people would line up and pass a bucket single file, person to person, until the last person poured the water on the fire. That’s how it is when we partner with you, our supporting churches, and then those churches like, Hoopers Creek, and Grace Indian, and then connect with Missionary Copley, arm in arm until finally we drop the seed of God’s Word. And one, or two, or four people come to Christ. Praise the Lord for salvation that reaches to the uttermost!
As we rest a few days before heading to the west coast of WA and then all the way back to NM with the Navajo people, we are rejoicing in what our eyes have seen; people coming to Christ, tribes reaching other tribes, and, the Word of God being planted in new and old places. Pray for us that our strength and faith fail not. We have more miles to go before hitting Oklahoma again and we want to be faithful to Him and give our best for Him. We are thankful for your love and support and prayer for us and the Native people.
In Him, the Higginbothams,
Mrs. Shirley, Elena, and Daniell (A printable PDF version is available here)
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June 2024
“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in
it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light
thereof.”
Revelation 21:23
To Family, Friends, and Fellow Saints,
The older we get and the longer we serve the Lord, the more Heaven means
to us. Maybe it has to do with us having more people over there than
here. I was with a preacher the other day who turned 87. He was on his
way to preach in the prisons. When asked why, he said something to the
effect that he was looking to see old friends. A fellow preacher
responded, “You’re 87; if you’re looking for friends, they’re more
likely in the graveyard than the prison.” My old dad would often peruse
the county cemeteries looking at headstones. When I asked why, he
replied, “I know more people here than I do anyplace else.” Heaven is
sweeter because of the certainty of a reunion.
Maybe Heaven means more because of the vexation of our spirits living in
this wicked world. I know there’s nothing new under the sun. I know that
history repeats itself and that the days of Noe and Lot have once again
come upon us. And yet, the days of Noe and Lot run concurrent in our
day. In addition, according to my humble interpretation of scripture,
the devil knows he has a short time left and has redoubled, or trebled,
or multiplied his energies at wreaking havoc. His mask of subtlety has
slipped, and his hatred is manifest everywhere. Every means of media has
been infiltrated and blares out with reckless abandon and obnoxious
repetition the odious and outright abominable message of the age. If you
make the effort to shut it out, you still have to endure the effects on
those who take it in. Only in Heaven will we be once and for all freed
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, having passed out of the
devil’s domain into the Kingdom of the dear Son of God. Heaven is
sweeter because of its absolute purity, its wholesomeness, its goodness.
Maybe Heaven means more because of the pains we bear. There are physical
pains: pains that come with age, pains that come with disease and
illness, that the passing years exacerbate. There are pains that come
with experiences, misfortune and misunderstanding, trials and
tribulations. Sometimes the physical hurts are easier borne than the
emotional. Regardless of their source or sustain, these burdens grow
heavier with the years; or perhaps we grow weaker, too frail to endure
long what we once bore patiently. We long to lay off these weights, soar
homeward, and be at rest. Heaven is sweeter because all of the things
that trouble and have troubled us will be gone forever.
Maybe Heaven means more because we long to worship. There might be some
reading this that view worship as an abstract idea. You’ve read the word
and even looked up its definition, but you’re unsure of its application.
Some folks’ understanding of worship is cultural, i.e. what they do down
South, or in a particular church, or at a particular meeting. Some
people’s understanding of worship is based on their negative views of
the “contemporary” church: “Well, if that’s worship, I don’t want any
part of it!” (It isn’t; and you probably won’t.) And there are even some
who’ve searched the scriptures and can give a chapter and verse
definition of the term, straight from the KJV, who are as much out of
practice or unwilling to participate as the modernists they condemn. But
the lover of the Lord Jesus longs to lay at His feet and bask in His
glory. Have you ever tasted and seen that the Lord is good? Have you
ever once experienced His presence?
Have you ever forgotten your cares and lost track of your requests as
streams of gratitude poured forth from your heart? Heaven will be
worship. Hearts unbounded, free at last, unhindered by any carnal or
worldly consideration, will break forth in unceasing praise of Him who
loves us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. Songs will swell
the vaulted corridors of the celestial city. Jeweled crowns of
unimaginable splendor and inestimable worth will sail across the throne
room and clang at the feet of Jesus without a second thought given.
Creatures hitherto unknown and unguessed and unfathomable will chant His
praises in perfect harmony with the saints. Heaven is sweeter because
we’ll finally get to worship the way the soul intends, and the flesh can
no longer hinder.
I guess the list could go on and on, couldn’t it? In the end, Heaven is
what it is because of Him. Sam Richards, the old, white-haired Sunday
school teacher, would say, “He’s the highlights of Heaven.” In fact,
everything there is a reflection of Him. Paul, while referencing Moses
and the tabernacle, said, “He who hath builded the house hath more
honour than the house.” And just as everything in the tabernacle pointed
to Christ, so everything in the New Jerusalem points to Him. The street,
the foundations, the walls, the gates, the river and trees – He’s in
all, over all, above all – Lord of all! Not to sound masonic, but He’s
the architect, and everything reflects His genius. Everything
reverberates with His praise. Everything echoes His goodness.
“And when I see Him face to face…”, that’s Heaven. “For now we see
through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.”
In the meantime, we endure as seeing Him who is invisible; and we walk
by faith until we walk in sight.
Gracious that’s not half bad, even if the worst missionary you know did
write it. Until we see Him, we’re carrying on doing what we can for all
we can. We’ve only got a few more weeks left in the country, then we’re
headed back to Bulgaria. We fly out of Dulles on the 23rd of July. The
good Lord has provided us another apartment in Shumen, only a few blocks
away from the one we had to leave. We’re excited about taking up
residence in it.
The boys will be attending a couple of youth camps in July, before our
return. Keep them in your prayers. There’s lots to do and get done
before our exodus. Pray we can get it all accomplished.
Bro. Zach wrote in his prayer letter about the Turkish Bible. The
proofreading is finally done. They want to get it recorded, like Scourby,
and put the recordings on the radio in Turkey and on YouTube. To get the
whole Bible professionally recorded will cost a big chunk of money,
$25,000. A number’s a number to God. What seems big to us is nothing to
Him. Help us pray.
Because of a living Savior,
The William LeFevre Family
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April 2024
“My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come … Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Song of Solomon 2:9-13
To Family, Friends, and Fellow Saints,
Winter is that season of the year when, due to the earth’s tilt on its axis, a hemisphere is farthest from the sun. As such it is defined by coldness, being farthest from the source of its warmth, and by darkness, as the hours of daylight are brief. Without heat and light, growth ceases; plants wither and die. The landscape appears barren and lifeless. Creation is held in suspended animation until in the process of time the planet in its orbit draws nearer to its center once again. Our God in His wisdom ordained the earth’s circuit, and by its placement in the heavens created the seasons we sometimes enjoy and sometimes lament.
You can draw many parallels to life from the circuit of the earth. And yet our text points to a contrast. When the Shulamite’s Savior appears, calling her to come away with Him, winter is past. Not that winter has passed, as time passes, but is past, as in gone or done away with.
I’m fully aware that when the Lord Jesus appears to summon us to Himself, and we go to forever be with our Redeemer, winter will never come again. The long nights will be over, and we’ll bask forever in the unceasing rays of the Sun of righteousness. Not a single cloud will pass between us again.
But I know this as well, that when He comes by His Spirit, through His word, now, in this life, regardless of every contrary consideration – winter is past, as if it never occurred. In the presence of Jesus, the dreary, gray clouds –pouring rain and portending more – vanish, revealing the brilliance of the azure sky. At the sound of His footstep, flowers spring forth, bud, and blossom brightly, exhibiting their most vivid hue. The melody of the song birds fills the air heralding His arrival, every note audible sweetness. The glory of creation flows from Him, reflects Him, and adores Him.
And yet for all that, it’s to me He comes. My beloved has eyes and ears only for me. How can winter linger when love burns so vehemently? And who could recall the winter in the wonders of such a spring?
That’s a big, fat, flowery way of saying God sure is good, and there’s nothing better than being saved! I hope these few scattered thoughts find you faring well and weathering the storm.
We haven’t quite been everywhere since the last prayer letter; it just seems that way. We’ve put some miles behind us, nevertheless. It’s been good getting to places and churches new to us, and equally as good revisiting friends and familiar people and places along the way. It’s refreshing to meet pastors, who are well aware of the times we’re living in and see the storm clouds approaching and yet are still eager to do more – in defiance of the devil and the age. Praise God. We’ve had a number of churches, new to us, take us on for support. I’m always humbled by it, as I wouldn’t support me. I sure am glad they’re trusting the Lord though.
We’ve enjoyed missions conferences, revival services, youth meetings, and just good, old-fashioned church. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate Christians meeting with no other agenda than to pray and sing praises and hear the word of God preached. That’s what refreshes the saints. All the programs and extracurricular activities might occupy time and prevent a foray into worldliness, but nothing builds up the child of God like Jesus-centered, Bible-founded worship. That’s our heart and soul. That’s what we want for our family, for your family, for the mission field.
I hear from our fellow missionaries overseas that the building in Avren is nearing completion. That’ll be a blessing. I’ve also heard the Turkish Old Testament is nearly finished being proofed. The believers continue to meet monthly in Dabravino for the big Turkish meetings. The pastors are also continuing their monthly fellowship services. Please pray for them. Pray for the children of the pastors. Pray God would touch their homes and help their families.
Keep us in your prayers. Time is running out on our furlough. Pray what time we have left, the Lord would use us to be a blessing.
The Lord bless y’all and keep you in His love, praying in the Holy Ghost, and looking for His daily mercies and His soon glorious appearing.
Because of a living Savior,
The William LeFevre Family
(A printable PDF version is available here) www.facebook.com/bulgarianlefevres
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June 2024
Dear Brothers Sisters in Christ,
We hope this finds you all enjoying the blessings of our Lord and Savior. This
month marks one year since our ministry drastically changed with the departure
of some of our workers. It happened quickly and we were forced to make decisions
we otherwise wouldn’t have considered. We ended up moving to our church in
Calarasi and within a couple of months we fixed up two rooms for my family and I
to live in. This ended up being the best decision for our ministry.
We’ve seen the Lord bless our church, sending in people who would never have
come if we weren’t there. Our family has found so much joy and contentment here
and we feel the Lord is blessing our efforts. It encourages and refreshes us
when we see the Lord working in these people’s lives and seeing new believers
born again into the family of God.
One lady who recently started coming to our morning prayer meetings is named Ati.
She’s a lady to whom our workers owed a large amount of money. I reimbursed her
the money and asked her to come to our services and she promised she would. She
started coming shortly thereafter and we saw the Lord begin to work in her
heart. One week Jacob had a meeting at his church in Pecineagra and I took some
of our believers from Calarasi to the service and Ati came with us. We had a
powerful service where the Lord blessed in a mighty way. The people were crying
and shouting and praising the Lord for all His goodness. On the way home, Ati
said she felt the Lord so strong in the service she started crying and wanted to
shout. Please help us pray that the Lord saves her. She has a lot of influence
in this village and her testimony could reach a lot of people who are Muslims
and want nothing to do with us.
As the weather has warmed up, we’ve begun having our morning prayer meetings
outside again and just as the Lord continues to bless the devil continues to
fight. Last week during one of our services, as we were singing, someone outside
the gate began throwing rocks over the fence at us. One rock almost hit Teresa
in the head while other rocks hit Brother Marchel. He and I ran out the gate to
try and catch whoever it was, but they were gone. Brother Marchel decided he’d
sit outside the gate in the middle of the road to guard us as we continued the
service. Before this happened, I wanted to put up a shed roof over the area
where we meet outside to shade us from the sun, but I’ve been so busy, I haven’t
had time to add the roof yet. After this happened, I knew I could wait no longer
and had to get it done. Last year, some gave money for our bell tower and the
shed roof and this week we’ve finally been able to pour cement and add the shed
roof. We now have a very nice place for our people to come and worship, shaded
from the sun, rain and protected from any future rocks being thrown at us.
We appreciate all of you, your prayers, and your support for our ministry, and
we pray for each of you, that as the days grow darker and the evil waxes worse
and worse, that your light for the Lord will shine brighter, and your hearts
will be more and more encouraged as we see the day approaching. Please continue
to pray for our other seven meetings and our daily travels back and forth. May
God richly bless you, is our prayer.
From Calarasi, Romania
Nathan, Teresa and Nate Reed
A printable PDF
version is available here
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June 2024
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I hope this letter finds you well and in His nurturing grace. I’m thankful for
how God is working in the meetings this summer. It’s become very hot these past
few weeks with the temperatures reaching into the high nineties. The heat can be
very oppressive, but it doesn’t stop our believers from coming to our services
and we are thankful for that.
On Sundays, I am in three meetings. We meet at the Children’s Home for our
English service, then afterwards my dad and I, with some Turkish believers, go
to two other meetings in the village about an hour from where I live in
Constanta. At the first meeting in the village there is a man whose house we
meet at that gathers up all the children in his area for the service. His name
is Cerkez and he’s a blessing to us all. One day when we arrived, I said to him,
“It sure is hot today.” He replied, “Well it’s hotter in hell, thank God we
aren’t there and thank God for this beautiful weather.” Talk about putting
things into perspective, this humbled me to my very soul. I’ve found that it’s
easy to complain when we should simply give thanks every day for how good God
has been to us. The children have learned the hymns and sing passionately and
some of their parents have begun to come to the services.
In my last prayer letter, I spoke of a man who comes faithfully to our meeting
in the village of Medgidia. His name is Yildiz and he’s handicapped in both of
his feet and walks with a cane. He also cannot speak clearly but we have learned
to understand his speech. Last week, without anyone telling him to, he started
sweeping outside the church. He simply wanted to help clean up even though he
had to use a cane. Both of his feet were burned as a child, and he also damaged
his tongue and vocal cords so badly that it’s hard to understand what he says.
But after a few years we’ve learned to understand him and I’ve learned it isn’t
the great or the learned, it’s the humble that get blessed. Let that be a lesson
to all of us.
“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and
God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are
mighty;” 1 Corinthians 1:27
With the help of several churches, I have been able to build a church in the
town of Pecineaga, where my wife’s parents live, and the Lord has blessed
tremendously. Every Thursday, we have people from different areas around the
village, along with my dad bringing believers from Calarasi, to meet for a
service and a meal afterwards. My wife and I have many nieces and nephews who
attend these meetings, and we are praying for their salvation as well as others
who are now coming. Even though we have adversaries who live across the street
from us, who don’t like that we have a church, we are still excited to see what
the Lord has in store for us. Please help us pray the Lord will touch their
hearts and they too will come to our church services and be saved. Thank you all
once again for all you do.
From Constanta, Romania
