Greetings from Winter Haven!
It has been a wonderful month. Just after my last update, I traveled to Pensacola Christian College. While there, I visited with several college students and passed out free T-shirts! One unique blessing of this trip is that I was able to take two of my children with me. Abigail & Esther accompanied me as we drove from Winter Haven to Pensacola.
After we returned from Pensacola, I was blessed to attend the Missio Nexus conference in Orlando. This conference is a unique resource for mission leaders. It was a full two days of networking and learning.
Following Missio Nexus, I travelled to New Hampshire to visit Dan & Marsha Haynes. Their church, Calvary Baptist (Claremont, NH), honored Dan & Marsha at their annual mission conference. It was a joyous time of praising God for all He has done through the ministry of Dan & Marsha. On that same trip, I was also able to visit with Bryan Bell of GDM Missions. The Benin Clinic exists today because of the tireless efforts of Bryan and GDM.
On September 25, I flew to Pharr, TX for meetings with Evangelical Mission Ministries (EMM). They are a small mission agency doing the important work of training pastors and planting churches in Mexico. I will soon be sending another letter regarding an exciting new partnership between FBM and EMM.
Just this week, I had the privilege of attending the Sunshine Baptist Fellowship fall conference in Sebring, FL. We were blessed to have GARBC National Representative Mike Hess as our speaker. This conference was a great time of fellowship with other GARBC pastors in Florida.
In October, the travelling continues. Later this week I will travel to Quincy, WA to visit Colin & Teena Ovenell. I am excited to bring my son, Josiah, with me on this trip. We will worship with the Ovenells at First Baptist Church of Quincy on Sunday, October 20th. Pray that there is no snow! J
On October 27th, I will be in Wisconsin at Calvary Baptist Church (Wisconsin Rapids). My wife, Nicki, and our youngest daughter, Ruthi, will be with me. We will be worshipping with Faye Obgartel. It will be such a blessing to visit with Faye just before she returns to Mali.
On October 30th, I am leaving for Niger. I am taking a young man, Zac Beintum, with me on this trip. We will visit our Niger and Benin fields. While there, I will speaking to the staff at Sahel Academy during their annual staff retreat. Please pray that God will use me to be an encouragement to the staff. Pray also for Zac. This will be his first foreign trip. Pray for him as he is exposed to foreign missions.
As I close this letter, I want to give you an update on our 2019 Project. You may remember that we are renovating two existing buildings in Niger to create a new office space and a much-needed guesthouse for the Niger and Benin fields. We are praising God that all of the funds have been received to complete this project! God’s people have provided over $35,000 towards this important project. In fact, Chris & Diane Marine are in Niger right now with a team of six men working hard on these renovations. Pray for them as they finish working and return to the US on Oct. 20.
May God richly bless you!
Stephen Simpson
President